Death Bed
by InfiniteHiatus
Summary: Life is going good for Claire, at least until she gets a phone call. When she discovers that her old time friend isn't doing so well, she leaves Morganville to be by her side. But, when Claire returns, just how different will her life be?
1. Unexpected Phone Calls

It was just like any other day in Morganville; Shane was still sleeping, Michael was out giving guitar lessons, and Eve had gone to work at the coffee shop. The only thing different was that Claire wasn't attending her first class, because the teacher was out on vacation.

Claire was sipping on some coffee she had just brewed, and it tasted pretty good, but wasn't nearly as comparable to Eve's delicious drinks. She was nearly half way done when the phone rang. She quickly picked it up before it could wake up Shane, even though she doubted a mere phone ring could disrupt his sleep. "Hello?"

"May I speak to Claire?" Claire didn't immediately recognize the voice, but it was a man on the other line.

"This is her." Claire was scanning through her memory to place the voice, but it didn't ring any bells. She suddenly found herself wishing the phone had caller id.

"How are you Claire? I'm sorry, let me introduce myself first. You probably haven't got a clue who I am. I'm Mr. Howard, Cara's father. You remember me, right?"

Claire remembered all too well. Cara was her best friend before they split up to go to different colleges. Cara to Caltech, which was Claire's dream school, and Claire got stuck with Texas Prairie University. "Hey Mr. Howard, I'm doing pretty good. How about you?"

Claire heard Mr. Howard give a half-hearted laugh an then a sigh. "It's funny you should ask that. I hope you don't mind me calling; I got the number from your parents." There was a slight pause. "I'm calling about Cara. She's, um, she's not doing so well." Mr. Howard's voice cracked at the end.

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. What's wrong?" Claire found herself thinking about how Cara's life must be. It had to be fantastic going to Caltech.

"Claire, she's got lung cancer and there's a ninety percent chance she's not going to make it." Claire could tell that Mr. Howard was crying and she wanted to reach out of the phone and hug him. "She regrets not keeping in touch with you, but you always were one of her good friends. Look, I know this is asking a lot, but do you think you could come and visit her? Don't even worry about the money, because we'll pay all of your expenses."

Claire didn't know what to say. Her previous best friend was dying, and she wanted to spend time with her, but she couldn't leave Morganville. Could she? "I, um, I'll be there." Claire blinked a few times and couldn't believe she just up and accepted the offer without even considering Eve, Michael, Amelie or Shane. God, how could she not consider Shane? She loved him!

"Claire, thank you so much. I know this will mean a lot to Cara and God bless you." Mr. Howard hung up the phone and so did Claire. She laid her head down on the table and shut her eyes, thinking about how stupid her decision was. There was no way Amelie would let her leave Morganville. But, Claire was definitely going to visit her friend even if it killed her.

Just then Claire heard foot steps padding down the stairs. Her heart skipped a beat when she realized it had to be Shane. How could she face him now? Claire shot to her feet and started walking to meet Shane. She just had to act like nothing was wrong. That couldn't be hard, right?


	2. Not on the Sofa

A/N: I'd like to thank my first reviewer! :D It means a lot since this s my first story. I decided to write more today since I wasn't really happy with the first chapter I wrote yesterday. Enjoy.

As soon as Shane reached the bottom step, he glanced over at Claire and smiled. Claire found herself wanting to jump on Shane, just because he was that hot. The bed head thing totally worked for him, and Claire doubted many people could pull that off. Maybe that's the reason Shane barely brushed his hair; there wasn't really the need for it.

Claire walked up to Shane, and squeezed him in a tight hug. She was pleased when she felt him place a kiss on the top of her head. Claire decided she was going to miss that when she went away, but Claire promised herself she wasn't going to stay away from Morganville for more than a week. For two reasons, one being that Amelie would send vampires to brutally kill her, and two being that Claire would miss the Glass house and it's residents.

She couldn't bare to think about parting from Morganville any longer, so Claire went for small talk. "Hey, so did you have a good night's sleep?" Claire lifted her head up to look up at Shane's face and it seemed like he had uninterrupted rest.

"Pretty good. It would have been better if I woke up next to a certain someone." Shane flashed a wicked smiled and walked over to the sofa, plopping down and saving a little room for Claire.

"Well, I've offered numerous times to sleep with a certain someone, but that certain someone keeps denying my offers." Claire walked over and sat down in the tiny space left on the sofa. Claire knew she probably pressured Shane a little too much sometimes, but she couldn't help it. If both of them were ready to go to the next level, why should age stand in the way of it?

"Your offers include the removal of clothing, and both of us know we can't do that, at least not yet." Shane placed a soft and quick kiss across Claire's lips. Claire really didn't feel like arguing with Shane today, so she placed a fierce and passionate kiss back upon his lips. After a while Shane had laid back and pulled Claire on top of him, while teasing the sensitive skin underneath the hem of her shirt. Claire enjoyed that so much.

Claire reached to pull off Shane's shirt, and he allowed her to remove it, but when she reached for her own shirt, his hands reached down and stopped her. Claire cursed in her head and shot Shane a dirty look. Shane shrugged it off and sighed. "Claire, I'm doing you a favor. Would you really like it if I was a perv and used you for sex?"

Claire laughed and rested her head on his chest. "You _are_ a pervert and there's nothing you can say to make me change my opinion." Claire paused playfully and then pondered, "Well, maybe there is one thing you could do."

Shane raised his eyebrows and dared to ask. "Oh yeah? And what would that be?"

"Sleep with me and I'll think of you as the perfect gentleman." They both laughed and Shane started tickling Claire, leaving her at a loss of breath. As soon as she was able to get a little oxygen, Shane reached up and planted a deep kiss on her lips, knocking out the little breath she had actually managed to gather. "Jerk," she mumbled.

"But you still love me." Shane kissed her again and they continued deeply making out until they heard someone clearing their throat. Claire looked up to see who and there stood Michael in the living room's doorway. How long had they been kissing? Michael wasn't expected to be home until around noon. Claire reasoned he had to be off work early, because there was no way Shane and Claire had been kissing for three hours.

Michael shook his head and propped his guitar against the chair. "Not on the sofa. You have your own beds and bedrooms to do what you were just doing. Next time I'm going to get a water bottle and spray you."

Shane rolled his eyes and placed his hands on Claire's hips. Claire wasn't sure if he knew where his hands were, but Claire inferred that Shane knew enough about female anatomy to know exactly where his hands were resting. "Thanks, but we aren't cats. And dude, when I'm trying to get my beauty rest, do you hear me complaining when certain noises are coming out of your room the nights you and Eve have a slumber party? Seriously, there's a kid in the house, keep it PG-13."

Michael shot Shane a dirty look. "First off, you'd have to sleep for eternity in order to get beauty rest. Second, the so-called child in this house wouldn't be doing what I just walked in on you guys doing if she was actually a kid."

Claire decided she had to voice her opinion and she realized that Michael might respect her voice more if she wasn't straddling Shane. So, reluctantly, she removed Shane's hands from her hips and sat up. "I never said I was a kid. Furthermore, I bet you and Shane both were a lot more advanced than I am at this age. Hell, I'd even bet Eve was slightly more experienced than me at sixteen."

Michael seemed to be thinking and then he scratched his heads. "It doesn't matter how advanced we were. We're guys. As for Eve, I really don't know what to tell you about her."

Shane laughed and sat himself up. "Oh, you and I both know that Eve definitely had her share of adventures." Claire was hoping that Shane's comment meant he was taking sides with her, but her little hope was crushed when Shane continued on. "Not that I think Claire should be having sex, because I don't. I was just trying to get the truth out."

Michael apparently didn't care much about the current topic anymore, because he started heading towards the stairs, but not before he turned back to Shane and Claire. "Just not on the Sofa, anymore." Then he ran upstairs and shut his bedroom door. Claire guessed Michael was going to catch up on sleep. He and Eve probably had a 'fun' night ahead.

Shane glanced over at Claire and let a devilish smile spread across his lips. "Well, since we can't do it on the sofa anymore, my room or your room?"

Claire laughed and playfully smacked Shane on his Shoulder. 'I'm too young, remember?" Claire gave Shane a delicate kiss and lightly nibbled on his bottom lip before pulling away. Claire had wanted to try that for a while and she was glad she did, because the smile spread across Shane's face was adorable.

"See, you're learning too much from me. Except, I don't really know where you learned that from, because I don't think I've done that to you. Should I be jealous of someone?" Shane laughed and Claire smiled at his joke. Shane was overprotective, but never had she seen him jealous, and Claire wasn't going to give him a reason to be. Well, unless of course she was teasing.

"Maybe. There was this one night back at home. Me and this random, hot stranger just got straight into it." Claire laughed and she knew Shane could tell she was joking. But suddenly, Claire's face turned serious for a moment, and she was bitten with curiosity. "Tell me about your first."

Shane's face turned horrified, almost as if she had admitted to him she was a vampire or something. "Oh, Jesus, Claire. It wasn't special, not at all. There's no need to talk about it."

When was Shane going to understand that Claire was stubborn and persistent? "No, I still want to hear about it. I'm curious."

Shane sighed and rested his head back against the sofa, closing his eyes. "Maybe another day. Let's just hook up some video games and kill zombies for now." Before Claire could argue, Shane got up in search of a game, and Claire stretched out on the sofa. She found herself thinking about what it would be like away from Morganville, and after picturing it for a few moments, Claire knew she wasn't going to like it. But, Claire was going to keep her promise to Mr. Howard.


	3. The Final Goodbye

Eve was home by now and dinner was just about done. Shane decided to cook Chili tonight and was in the kitchen. Michael was on a quick run to the store to buy some more beer since they had run out just last night. That left Claire and Eve alone in the living room. "Claire Bear, are you alright? You seem a little distracted."

Claire smiled and snapped herself out of her thoughts, looking into Eve's dark raccoon eyes. "No, I'm perfectly fine. I was just thinking about some things, that's all." Claire desperately wanted to tell someone what was going on, but she feared that if she did, they would persuade her to stay into Morganville. And that wouldn't be hard to do. As sick and twisted as it was, Claire had started to love Morganville and she would definitely miss it, so just a slight twisting of the arm would convince her to stay.

Eve sighed and glanced around, as if she was checking to see if anyone was listening in. "It's Shane right? Michael told me about how he walked in on you guys after getting off work early. I heard you were getting all hot and steamy on the couch. Did he finally give in?" Eve winked and flashed a smile.

Claire found herself laughing, even though she was slightly embarrassed that Michael told Eve about the Sofa incident. "We were totally not even that hot and steamy. I think I'm going to die a virgin." Claire didn't mean to, but she let a disappointed sigh escape from her lips.

Eve gave a slight laugh at that and started being sympathetic. "Claire, I know it's frustrating, but think of it this way. The longer you wait, the better. You'll have all kinds of sexual tension built up and it will just be amazing."

Claire smiled, but didn't really feel that much better. She was getting annoyed with waiting and since Claire was leaving very soon, not knowing how long until she came back, Claire wanted take her relationship with Shane to the next level. "Thanks Eve, but I think I've got enough sexual tension to fill up Morganville." Both Eve and Claire laughed until they heard someone clear their throat.

It turned out Michael had returned, and Shane was the one who had cleared his throat, holding the freshly gotten beer in his hand. "And girls say men gossip?"

Eve stuck out her tongue out at Shane. "Bite me. Girls only talk when necessary." Eve got up and walked over to Michael, giving him a quick peck on the lips.

Claire felt her cheeks turn a slight red. She wasn't really too happy that both Michael and Shane had heard the comment she made to Eve in what was supposed to be private. Screw it, Claire thought, she was hungry and oddly thirsty. Even Shane's disgusting beer looked a little good at the moment with her dry, aching throat. She headed towards the kitchen.

***________________________________________________________________***

The chili was good, but Claire couldn't manage to get enough to drink. It had to be her nerves that were making her throat parched. It was about eleven at night, and Claire was in Shane's bedroom. They were just talking, which was perfectly fine, because Claire didn't know when would be the next time she'd talk to him. That's when Claire decided, she had to tell Shane now about leaving Morganville for a while. "Shane, I have something I need to tell you…"

Before Claire could finish, she heard Eve moan from Michael's room. "Hey, get a room!" Claire called and she instantly heard Michael and Eve's laughter.

"We've got one, thanks!" She heard Eve yell back. Claire chuckled, but part of her wished she didn't know there were other people in the house having sex, because it reminded her of how bad she wanted Shane.

She glanced up at Shane, who quickly placed his lips on top of hers. The kiss didn't last long, but it was still nice. It would have been better if Claire couldn't taste the strong scent of beer on his breath. Then, Claire got an idea…

She reached back up to deepen the kiss and rolled over on top of Shane, straddling him. Claire did feel a bit guilty, since she was taking slight advantage of Shane in his slightly drunken state, but Claire wouldn't take things very far. Just a little further than usual. She reached for Shane's shirt and easily removed it.

Since Claire had been expecting to be the one to make all the moves tonight, she was quite more than shocked when Shane reached for her shirt. At first she thought it would only be to tease the skin underneath the hem of her shirt, but the shirt came completely off. Then, the bra came unclasped in a few moments and slid to the floor. Claire honestly felt like getting up to do a happy dance, but of course that meant she'd have to separate from Shane. And Claire wasn't doing that.

Shane flipped her over, so he was on top of her, and Claire let out a small, surprised squeak. Claire realized guilt was creeping in on her, but she was greedy, and she convinced herself she wouldn't let things go too far. When Shane's lips went for her neck, she was a little in awe. He really knew what he was doing, and he wasn't holding back tonight, not like he usually did. When Shane's lips reached Claire's chest, she accidentally moaned.

Apparently, that one little moan snapped Shane back to reality. He jumped off of Claire and his eyes were huge. "Damn it, Claire!" He put his head in his palms and sighed. "You can't let me do that to you."

Claire felt really bad and she wished that stupid idea of taking advantage of Shane hadn't popped in her head. "I'm sorry, I just, um well, it felt good." Claire felt the whole room fill with awkwardness and she wished Shane had a few more beers… Another wave of guilt hit Claire as she thought that.

Claire felt a little better when Shane turned to face her. That gave her hope that he wasn't completely pissed. "Claire, you can't let me do that to you, especially not while I'm drunk." Shane shook his head and forced a slight laugh. "Sleeping with a drunken man, such a great way to remember your first, isn't it?"

Claire glanced down at the ground and felt the need to convince Shane she wasn't trying to do that with him. "I wasn't going to push you that far. I wouldn't make you do anything you'd regret." Claire knew she was being honest. She would never dream of doing anything that would make Shane uncomfortable around her. Claire was just excessively greedy tonight, but she had reason to be, tonight was her last night with Shane for a while.

Shane sighed, lying back on the bed, leaving enough room for Claire to rest her head on his shoulder. "Claire, I wouldn't regret it, not at all. But, I want us to wait, and I think everything will be worth it."

"You know, on my eighteenth birthday, I'm probably going to tackle you onto the bed and rip all your clothes off, right?" Claire joked, but she knew her hormones would definitely be begging her to do that.

"And when you're eighteen, you'll have every ounce of my permission to do that." Shane pulled Claire closer to him, but suddenly froze and his eyes opened wide before he forced them to squeeze shut. "Claire, put a shirt on, please!" Shane rolled over and groaned into the pillow.

Claire laughed and was glad to see she had that kind of effect on Shane. "Nope, it stays off." With that, they went to sleep.

***________________________________________________________________***

Claire woke up in the middle of the night and looked over to see Shane sound asleep. She happened to catch a glance at the clock and noticed that it was one in the morning. Then Claire knew that if she was leaving, she had to do it know. The pressure to stay here was growing on her, and if she waited any longer, Claire would back out of visiting her friend.

Claire pried herself away from Shane and crept down the stairs. She searched for some paper, envelopes, and a pen. She found her supplies all too quickly, and wished that she had to do a little more scavenging. Claire sighed and plopped down at the table. She would compose letters and tell everyone goodbye. It was a lot easier than talking to them on the phone and a hell of a lot less challenging than telling them in person. Claire knew she'd write Shane's letter last.

_Michael, _

_If you're reading this letter, I'm probably already out of Morganville by now. I'm sorry for not telling you about leaving, but I figured it was best this way. I don't know how long I'll be gone, but I know I'll be back. Soon. But, I've enclosed one hundred dollars and you guys can spend it whenever you need to. Take care of Eve and Shane, please._

_Claire._

Claire folded the letter and stuffed it into its envelope, neatly writing Michael's name on the front. She was pretty sure Michael would understand her leaving. He wouldn't be too happy at first, but he'd eventually understand. He was probably the most understanding person in this house. Now, it was time to write to Eve.

_Eve,_

_I'm going to miss you so much, even though I won't be gone for long. In case you haven't figured it out yet, I've left Morganville, but only for a short period of time. I needed to do it and I hope you understand. I haven't got many close friends, like you, so it's going to be weird not having you around. Plus, I'm going to miss your delicious coffee every morning. I'll be back home before you know it._

_Claire._

Claire stuck the letter in Eve's envelope and could feel tears stinging her eyes. This was a lot harder than she thought. She wondered if leaving without saying goodbye was the best thing to do, but it really was. Saying goodbye in person would make it that much harder. Now onto Amelie's letter. Claire really hoped that Amelie could calmly read this letter and not send her vampire minions to kill her.

_Amelie,_

_I apologize for not informing you of my departure, but I knew you'd forbid me from leaving. I understand that you're probably extremely angry right now, but I had to go, and I'll be back in Morganville soon enough. Please forgive me._

_Claire._

Claire then stuck Amelie's letter in her envelope and took a deep breath. Now she had to move onto Shane and that was going to be so hard. Claire just wanted to burn all of her letters and go crawl back into bed with Shane. But she couldn't do that. Her friend needed her, and she was always there for her friends. Even if it killed her.

_Shane,_

_I am so sorry that I wasn't brave enough to tell you in person, so I'm writing you this letter to let you know that I've left Morganville for a while. It has nothing at all to do with Amelie, Myrnin, Oliver or any other vampires so don't worry. I left town to help an old friend. I'm not sure how long I'll be gone, but I'll be back soon enough. Maybe a week or so. I love you so much and I'll miss you._

_Love,_

_Claire._

Claire's tears were rolling down her cheeks by now and she hastily stuck the letter in its envelope. She didn't want to see that damn letter anymore and she hoped that by the time Shane opened it, the letter would be dry. She knew it was soaked with her tears at the moment. Claire then lifted herself out of the kitchen chair and headed upstairs to pack her bags.

After gathering about two weeks or clothes, she closed her bags and headed back downstairs. Part of her wished Eve, Michael or Shane would walk out and catch her about to leave, and then force her back upstairs. That way she could have an excuse to tell herself on why she didn't go visit her dying friend.

Claire's hand was reaching for the door knob and then a thought hit her. How would she remember to go back to Morganville? As soon as she passed Morganville's border, all her thoughts and memories would be wiped clean. She wouldn't remember that she loved people in Morganville and she'd feel no need to go back. Claire ran into the kitchen, grabbed a piece of paper and pen, and wrote _You must go back to Morganville, Texas when the time is right._ She taped it to the inside of her suitcase and zipped it closed.

Claire walked back to the front door, grasped the knob, and turned it. She was exposed to the night air and not a single soul was out. Well, she couldn't really expect anyone to be out in Morganville past dark, not unless they wanted a death wish. Claire shut the door behind her and headed for Morganville's border. Once Claire got far enough away from the Glass house, she would call Cara's dad and tell him to meet her at Morganville's border. She didn't want him stepping a foot inside Morganville.

Claire knew walking such a long way to the border wasn't safe, especially not at night, but she couldn't ask anyone in Morganville for a ride. No one would take her to get out of Morganville, not when Amelie would probably kill them for helping her escape. So tonight, Claire was on foot.


	4. The Road Ahead

**So, here's the next Chapter! :D Oh, and I feel the need to tell you that yesterday was my fifteenth birthday and my awesome presents got me over writer's block. I got an Ipod, laptop, and a Siberian Husky that I get to pick up on Thursday! So, yeah, enough about the things you don't care about.**

**Also, thanks to my reviewers! :) I'm considering doing different points of view on the glass house residents to show their reactions on Claire's departure. So, tell me if you vote yay or nay. P.S I just found out 'Deathbed' is one word. That made me a bit disappointed, considering that my story title is messed up . Oh well, on with the story. **

Claire was at Morganville's border now, but Cara's father hadn't arrived, yet. Maybe because sunrise was about an hour away and Claire had been sure to tell Cara's dad to meet her at dawn. Claire sighed and realized she would just have to wait. She had gotten all this way without a vampire trying to eat her, and maybe an hour would be pushing her luck, but it was the only thing she could do.

Claire found herself thinking that maybe if she crossed the border it would make her a little less in danger, so she took a few steps forward. The farther she was away from Morganville, the safer she would be. After twenty baby steps, Claire had passed the 'Welcome to Morganville' sign. Claire felt like grabbing a can of spray paint and adding 'Home of the Blood Sucking Vampires', but she resisted the urge. Amelie would probably have her arrested for vandalism, and after she paid her jail sentence, Amelie would kill Claire before she even got a breath of fresh air.

Claire was now about ten feet away from the border and with each step, she felt more and more safe. Well, at least until Claire felt a tightening around her wrist. At first she thought it was just her nerves, but then she felt sharpening pain. When Claire glanced down at her wrist she realized her founder's bracelet was cutting off her circulation. Claire screamed and started pulling violently at the chain.

It was no use; the chain wasn't breaking, and it grew tighter with each tug. This was like quicksand vampire style. Claire knew she was going to die, and when a trickle of blood seeped down her wrist that was proof. Claire thought about the Saw horror movies she watched with Shane and thought that maybe she could cut off her own arm, but Claire quickly decided against it for many reasons. She didn't have the guts to cut her own hand, she would probably bleed to death before getting any help, and having excess blood flow near a vampire town wasn't the wisest thing to do.

Claire shut her eyes and let the salt water tears fall down her cheeks. Claire realized she wouldn't be in this situation if she wasn't so smart. If Claire wasn't intelligent, she would have never met Amelie, she wouldn't have received the bracelet currently draining the life out of her, and she wouldn't even be in Morganville. But Claire was glad she found Morganville, because she had had met people who changed her life. Morganville contained three people that she loved dearly, and even if Morganville was the cause of her death, she didn't regret a thing.

When Claire thought she couldn't stand the pain anymore, she heard something hit the pavement. Claire almost thought it was her hand, but she could tell it was still intact, since she felt a slight stinging sensation. Claire opened her eyes and when she glanced at the ground, the bracelet was there. Except, it wasn't bright silver anymore, it was turning pitch black. After a few more moments, it started crumbling into pieces, and then turned to ash like a vampire in the sun.

Claire didn't understand, but she wouldn't question it. She had long ago learned her lesson about questioning things in Morganville. Still Claire wondered what was the point of all the pain? Why cause her to bleed? That thought made Claire glance down at her wrist and she saw an imprint where the bracelet had dug into her skin. Claire was cut, pretty bad, and she knew she needed stitches. She almost considered going back into Morganville for help, but with a gash like that and no protection bracelet, she knew she'd be some vampire's meal.

For once, something seemed to be on her side, and a car was pulling up. When a tall, slender, and black haired man stepped out, she knew help was on the way. It was Cara's father. When Claire caught a glance at his face, she could see exhaustion and worry in his eyes, and Claire knew he saw the cut in her wrist. He rushed over towards Claire and put his arm around her waist for support, like he expected her to collapse at any moment. "What happened?"

Claire thought for a few moments, which was quite hard to do considering her nausea, and she didn't really know what to say. Cara's father would think she was crazy if she said _'oh, nothing, it's just that a bracelet my vampire owner gave me tried to amputate my wrist.'_ So, Claire shrugged and decided to tell him a story later. Right now, she just needed medical attention.

Cara's father unbuttoned his shirt and wrapped it around her wrist. Claire felt bad, because it was a silk shirt, and she knew it had to be expensive. But, she pushed her guilt aside and climbed into the passenger seat. When Cara's father climbed into the seat, he started the engine, and looked over at her. "Where's the nearest hospital?"

Claire knew the nearest hospital was in Morganville, but she wasn't going to risk going back into town, so she lied. "It's up ahead. Just keep driving." Cara's father wearily glanced down at Claire's wrist, and Claire knew that he was wondering how bad the cut was, so she felt the need to reassure him. "I'm fine. It's just a superficial cut."

Claire could see that Cara's father knew she was lying, but he didn't question her anymore. He just drove away, probably about 20 miles over the speed limit, and headed to find help. Honestly, Claire didn't really know where another hospital was, but she was sure that if they drove long enough they'd find one.

***__________________________________________________________________***

"Alright, Ms. Danvers, you're all stitched up and ready to go, but we need you to sign some discharge papers first. The nurse will be in shortly with those and she'll take out your IV." The doctor gave Claire a warm smile and then left the room. Claire noticed the staff at this hospital was much nicer than Morganville's and she was glad to know she'd be leaving soon. Claire had been in the hospital since six in the morning and she was betting it was almost near noon by now.

"So, how are you feeling?" Claire looked over at Cara's dad and remembered he'd been sitting with her in the room the whole time. She had almost forgotten that since he'd been so quiet. Claire hadn't heard a word out of them since they drove off in search of a hospital, which had taken them about an hour to find. That gave Claire enough time to think of a decent story about how she cut her wrist.

"I'm feeling fine, just a little out of it, but you can blame the pain killers for that." Claire didn't like pain medicine. It made her feel like she was only partially in her body; the rest of her was somewhere else. Claire was glad she had come up with her story before the medicine, because otherwise she would have been screwed. She came up with the decent lie that she wasn't watching what she was doing and snagged it on something she couldn't see in the darkness. The doctor's obviously didn't believe her, since they questioned her about suicide, abusive boyfriends, and if she was taking any drugs. Claire denied it all.

The nurse was in the room now with a band-aid, prescriptions, and discharge papers. Claire took notice to the nurse's extreme paleness and thinness. She looked so fragile, but she was still friendly. "Mr. Howard, may I ask you to step out of the room while she dresses and gets ready?" Cara's father nodded and left. The nurse then took out Claire's IV and reviewed the discharge papers and prescriptions. "Take the medication eight hours part and only when you really need them. Be sure to keep your bandage clean and wrap it in plastic when you decided to take a shower. If you see any signs of redness, swelling, or infection, then go see a doctor as soon as possible. Otherwise, you should be fine within a couple of weeks."

Claire nodded at the appropriate moments and then signed the papers when asked. After the nurse left, she took off the revealing robe, and put on her blood soaked jeans and t-shirt. _Well there goes another pair of my good jeans_, Claire thought. Claire walked towards the curtain and pulled it back, walking out into the hallway. Cara's father looked at Claire's ruined outfit and frowned. "When we get home, we'll have to buy you something to replace that."

Claire shook her head. "No, that's okay. After all, I ruined your good shirt." Claire looked at Mr. Howard who was only wearing a gray tank. Claire really didn't know where his silk shirt had gone, probably in the trash somewhere. She was sure it couldn't be salvaged since it was drenched in blood.

"No, I insist. And you only did me a favor. I never really liked that shirt; I just wore it because Mrs. Howard bought it for me. Purple isn't my color." Mr. Howard smiled and Claire returned it. That was the first time she'd seen him smile all day. It was fake, nonetheless, but he was trying. Claire guessed it wasn't easy trying to pretend everything was fine when you had a daughter at home who was dying.

"Well, I guess we should get going if we want to make it back before dinner." Mr. Howard nodded and they headed for the exit. The drive was about nine hours away and Claire knew that as every hour passed, her uneasiness would grow. Claire knew that by now Eve and Michael knew she had left. Shane would probably be waking up soon and find out also. Claire also didn't really know what to expect with Cara. Would she arrive to find Cara lying on a bed, near death? Would Cara even remember Claire? Claire just didn't know, but what Claire did know was that she had a long ride ahead of her.


	5. Realizations

*** Eve's POV ***

Eve walked down the stairs and headed for the kitchen to brew a cup of coffee for Claire and surprise her when she woke up. Eve's amazing night with Michael had put her in an extremely good mood this morning. Just as Eve turned the corner, she saw four envelopes spaced apart on the kitchen table, and one was addressed to her. She noticed it was Claire's handwriting and she grabbed it off of the table. She didn't really know why, but she just suspected it to be bad news. A letter could mean absolutely anything, but in Morganville, it wasn't typically a good thing.

She peeled open the seal and read the letter. By the time she was finished, rapid tears were rolling down her cheeks and her body went numb. That caused her to drop the glass coffee pot she had in her hand and it smashed into a million tiny pieces like her heart. Her Claire bear was gone, and she didn't even know where she went or when she would see her again.

Eve's legs became jelly, so she slugged down into the kitchen chair and rested her head in her palms. When she finally lifted her head up, she saw Michael gazing at her with concerned eyes. Eve knew she couldn't form complete sentence at the moment, but she tried anyway. "Claire's gone."

*** Michael's POV ***

"Claire's gone." Michael watched Eve speak softly as another tear dropped down her cheek. He had wondered into the kitchen when he heard something glass hit the floor, and then as he listened closer, he heard Eve sobbing. Michael didn't like when Eve cried, he hated seeing her in pain, but there she was at the kitchen table balling her eyes out with her hand clenched around a letter.

That's when Michael took a closer look. Eve was holding what seemed to be a letter and on the table there were similar letters, one that was even addressed to him. He walked over and picked it up, cautiously, somewhat already knowing it contained bad news. He quickly realized it was from Claire and that she had left, but it was unknown where, why, or for how long. His letter also contained money, but that was the least of his worries. He sat beside Eve and pulled her into a hug, feeling her tears soak his shirt.

He noticed the two remaining, unopened letters and saw that they were addressed to Amelie and Shane. _Crap, what's Shane going to do? _Michael thought. Shane was going to be crushed, and though he'd do everything in his power to act like it didn't bother him, Michael knew it would. Shane didn't care for too many people, especially not many women, but it was apparent that he loved Claire. Hell, everyone loved Claire. She was just that likeable, brave, naive type of girl and you had to care for her, even Amelie, a heartless vampire, knew she was special.

Michael was going to call in and cancel his guitar lessons. He would definitely be needed here at the house, to console Eve and to keep Shane from doing something stupid. Michael knew that today was going to be a somber and terrible day. He sighed and prepared himself for the madness.

*** Shane's POV ***

Shane remembered hearing something make a smashing noise, almost like glass, but he was too groggy to go check it out. Instead, he rolled over and went back into his coma-like sleep. He did, however, notice that Claire wasn't resting beside him anymore. Shane just concluded that Claire wondered off to the bathroom and he rolled over to doze off into dreamland.

But Shane was up now, almost an hour later, and Claire still wasn't beside him. He knew she didn't have any morning classes this week, so she wasn't at the college. Shane crept up the hallway, and peeked into Claire's room, but when she wasn't there either, Shane worry start to creep up on him. Shane quickly padded down the stairs and when he glanced into the living room he saw Eve and Michael sitting together on the sofa.

That made Shane's fear grow worse. Michael and Eve were both supposed to be at work by now, and instead, Eve was resting her head on Michael's chest with swollen, red eyes. That couldn't mean they had good news. Of course Eve cried over anything, but the look in her eyes was dead and depressed. Shane almost thought it had something to do with her brother Jason, but when he saw that Michael's eyes had a similar sadness, he reasoned it was something else. Michael wouldn't care if anything bad happened to Jason.

"Hey, guys, is Claire around?" Shane found himself wishing that he could take the question back. Eve burst into tears and Michael rested his eyes shut. Oh, that definitely was not a good sign. The tension was growing when neither answered his question; Michael just raised the letter addressed to Shane in his hand. Shane didn't really know if he wanted to open it, but he crept forward and retrieved it, gently tugging it out of Michael's hand.

By the time Shane had finished reading the letter, he felt sick inside. Claire was gone? It didn't seem real and he turned to run back upstairs, but felt Michael grab onto his shoulder. "Hey, look, don't go doing anything drastic. Claire's safe and there's no reason to think anything negative. You know she'll be back before you know it."

That was just like Michael to try and keep everyone calm. How did he know Claire was fine? He didn't. "Whatever dude." Shane shrugged him off and continued back up the stairs. He shut his door and locked it behind him. Shane felt like less of a man by barricading himself in his room; that was something chicks did. But, Claire had really gotten to him, and he had let her, only to have her betray him like this. Shane sighed and replayed the previous night's events in his head.

Had Claire been planning to leave? He remembered that she was trying to tell him something before they started hearing moaning from Eve, and then Shane kissed her before she had a chance to continue. Shane mentally slapped himself and he knew that Claire wanted to tell him, but got discouraged and decided to write letters instead, since it was so much easier. Shane then scolded himself for thinking he knew Claire that well, but, didn't he?

Shane would wait for her to return, because he was positive she would, and as soon as possible. Shane wouldn't mind waiting, because when it came to Claire, Shane was good at waiting. That just proved how much he loved her, since he was usually extremely impatient with girls most of the time. Even Eve, who was probably his closest friend of the opposite gender, made him loose his temper occasionally. Claire was just Shane's weakness.

*** Claire's POV ***

It was weird. Claire could barely even remember Morganville now, and it had only been about nine hours since she left. At the moment, Claire just blamed it on the painkillers. Claire was still managing to remember a few details like that there was some girl she didn't like, who's name was Monique? And she had roommates named Mickey, Eva, and…Shawn? The worst part was that some freaky looking chick dressed in white with matching hair seemed to be haunting Claire's mind.

But Claire couldn't dwell on it, because she was in the Howard's living room, and in few moments she would see her near-death friend. Mr. Howard was creeping down the stairs and he looked up at Claire. "She's in her room. You can go see her now."

Claire reasoned it wasn't good if Cara wasn't able to come down the stairs. With every step Claire made, part of her was screaming to turn around, that she didn't want to see a good friend of hers in critical condition, but Claire kept going, because she needed to be there and comfort her friend. Once Claire reached the top of the stairs, she gently creaked open the last door on the right. She remembered it was Cara's room from the numerous times she had spent the night.

The picture wasn't at all what Claire had been picturing. Cara was standing up and painting her walls? Yes, Cara was painting her previous gray walls the color of lime green. Claire gave a sigh of relief, glad that Cara wasn't as bad as she thought. Or maybe she was, but she just wasn't letting it show. Claire cleared her throat and that caused Cara to notice her presence. "Hi, Cara, how are you?"

Cara raised her eyebrows and dropped her paintbrush into the bucket. "Like shit. I've got cancer and limited time left to live, how did you think I would feel?" Claire was dumbfounded by Cara's tone. She had remembered Cara as a polite, submissive, and optimistic person, but she seemed so different now. She seemed pissed off.

"I, er, well…" Claire let herself ramble on idiotically. She was at a loss for words and she feared that anything she said would just piss off Cara more. So Claire decided to change the subject completely. "You're painting your room?"

Cara gave a light, forced laugh and picked her paintbrush back up. "Yeah, I've always loved lime green, but my parents didn't want me painting my room that color. Now, they pretty much don't care what I do." Cara paused and looked up at Claire, almost like she was waiting for Claire to say something, but Claire decided she would listen for now. Maybe if she listened carefully enough, she could figure out where she and Cara stood. "Is it weird that it bothers me? You know, I don't like them treating me different. They act like I'm so fragile and yeah, I know I've got cancer, but when they walk on eggshells around me, it's a constant reminder. I don't want to be constantly reminded that I'm going to die in a few months; do you know what that feels like?"

Claire thought for a moment. "I can imagine it's not very pleasant." Claire paused and thought of something else to say, maybe to get Cara out of her morbid and snappy attitude. "But imagine how it feels for them. Their only daughter is sick, and they don't know how to act. I'm not taking sides, but I don't think you should hate them."

"I don't hate them; I don't hate anyone, not anymore. Life is too short for that stuff. And I've always known that I wouldn't live forever, but I think I forgot that for a while, and terminal cancer seems to have reminded me. Well, looking back, I've realized my life was so boring. I've always held back and restricted myself, but I don't want to do that anymore. I've at least got some time left and I want to have some crazy, good, and fun memories. That's why I called you here. Who's better to share my last memories with than my closest friend?" Cara looked at Claire with pleading eyes and Claire was just overwhelmed.

Now Claire knew why Cara was so bitter, because she never got to experience all the fun things she could have. Claire felt the impulse to change that. Claire couldn't have one of her best friends living her last days in discontent and misery. "Well, anything you want to do, no matter how crazy or bizarre, I'll do it with you. But no more being morbid and depressed."

Cara dropped her paintbrush again and rushed towards Claire, hugging her. "It's a deal. And speaking of our crazy adventures, I was thinking we could start tonight. There's a party tonight at some senior's house and I think it would be a great way to start off our first of many awesome nights."

Claire hesitated for a moment. Something way back in her head was telling her she'd had some kind of a bad experience with a party, but she couldn't exactly name what it was. Claire wondered if she hit her head recently, but the only wound she had was the gash in her wrist she had gotten from…._Crap, where'd the cut come from?_, Claire wondered. She remembered lying about it saying she'd cut it on something unknown in the darkness, but that wasn't really what happened, had it?

Claire was getting a headache now. She just decided to stop thinking for tonight and go have some fun. She didn't think it would cause too much harm, so Claire linked arms with Cara and smiled. "Let's go crash that kid's party."


	6. Running Away

It had been three days since the funeral. And here Claire was, at a party, trying to ignore reality. She hated staying at home with the Howards now; it was too much to watch them grieve the death of their only daughter. So, Claire went to wherever she could escape, and right now it was at an end of the summer party, where Claire was surrounded by drunk and obnoxious teens.

Claire wasn't drunk herself, in fact she hadn't even had a sip, but she wished she had. The rude comments and glares she was getting were beginning to put her on edge. _I heard her friend died form an overdose_ or _Well, I heard she died from Aids. God knows she was a slut. _Claire would ball her fists tighter every time she heard those ignorant remarks. But, there was one remark that put an end to her anger and turned it into fury. _She's so damn hot! You think I might have a chance at some depression sex?_

Claire had grown tired of convincing horny guys that she wasn't going to sleep with them. She didn't know why, but there was some guy she was waiting for. Claire would sometimes slip up, though, and kiss a guy when she was lonely or just needed some comfort, but she never did more. It was weird to be in love with some guy, who was unknown to you, and Claire just wanted to forget that guy, but her subconscious mind wouldn't let her. She tried so much.

Claire closed her eyes and started taking deep breaths. She needed to leave, and she needed to do it now. The looks and comments kept growing as every minute passed. So, Claire headed towards the exit, and was almost free, until some drunken chick bumped into her. She looked like a Barbie, actually, a pissed off Barbie. Claire wasn't too sure why she was mad, though, because it had been Barbie's own fault and her drink was all over Claire. "You stupid little klutz, watch where the hell you're going!"

Claire wasn't in the mood tonight, so she just ignored Barbie's rudeness, and shot her a glare. Claire was heading back towards the exit, but she felt a grip on her shoulder, and she was spun around. Claire regained her focus and had enough time to register that Barbie's hand was aimed for Claire's cheek, so Claire quickly dodged it.

Now Claire was really pissed off. Claire hadn't done a damn thing to this random stranger, but she was trying to fight Claire. Claire wasn't having that. She grabbed Barbie's hand and twisted it behind her back. When Claire heard Barbie let out a cry, she let go, but not before kicking her in the back and knocking her onto the floor. Claire didn't forcefully kick Barbie, just enough to knock Barbie off balance, so she'd stop trying to go after Claire.

But Claire could feel the waves of fury radiating out of herself, and she was glad that Barbie was at least smart enough to stay on the ground, because Claire's anger would have taken over. Then Claire would have probably done something she'd seriously regret later. Focusing back on her original plan, Claire shot towards the exit. She was already beginning to feel guilty for her outburst of violence, and Claire realized that she couldn't stay in this town. Not anymore, at least, because Claire would always be reminded and she didn't want that.

Claire was at the Howard's house now, she'd run the whole way, and she wasn't going to stop now. She slammed the front door and continued to run up the stairs, then slammed her own bedroom's door. She slumped against the door and fought back tears. Spending three months with Cara had taught her that crying solved nothing, it just made everything worse. Cara spent so long trying to convince Claire that, and Claire was reluctant to believe it at first, but when she thought about it, there was some truth to it.

After Claire caught her breath, she began gathering up all of her clothes strewn across the guest bedroom, which she had occupied the whole three months she stayed with the Howards. Claire knew that she was leaving this town, but she didn't know where, and she definitely didn't know how to break it to the Howards. Claire would worry about that later, though. All she wanted to do now was pack up all her belongings and prepare to flee. So, Claire unzipped her bag and flung it open.

It was then that Claire noticed some paper in the bottom of her bag, and she reached for it, thinking it was trash. But she quickly realized it was a letter, and it was for her. _You must go back to Morganville, Texas when the time is right_. Morganville? Claire thought about the name, but it didn't really ring any bells. Claire almost threw out the memo, but it was in her handwriting, so it had to be important, right? _When the time is right._ Claire re-read that part and sighed. Well, the time was definitely right. Claire needed somewhere to go, and maybe Morganville was the right place.

Claire folded the letter into her pocket and continued packing. When she was finally done, she crept down the stairs and found paper and a pen. She was relieved to see that Mr. and Mrs. Howard weren't home. Claire knew that leaving would crush them, but for once, she needed to worry about herself. Claire wanted to let them down easy, so she planned to write a letter. Oddly, her subconscious mind found that ironic. Claire shrugged it off, and beganwritting.

_Mr. & Mrs. Howard,_

_I feel terrible not being able to tell you this in person, but I can't stay here anymore. You have become almost like second parents to me within these past three months, and it kills me to leave, but it's what I need to do. I think it's the only way I'll be able to cope, you know? Don't ever hesitate to call me, ever._

_Claire._

Claire sealed the letter in an envelope and grabbed her luggage, leaving out of the front door. She caught one last glance at the house, and started off towards the closest bus stop. She didn't really like public transportation, especially when creepy men would try to hit on her, but she would do anything she needed to do to get out of this town that haunted her. _Morganville will be better_, Claire repeated in her head, though she had absolutely no idea what Morganville had in store for her.

_______________________________________________________________________

Claire was terribly pissed that the bus refused to cross Morganville's border. The bus driver said Morganville had laws forbidding any outside cities and towns form entering into their town. _What the hell kind of law is that_, Claire fumed. But, she wasn't letting it completely get to her. She was away from Cara's hometown, which felt like a huge weight being lifted off of her shoulders. But, now Claire felt extremely odd and nostalgic, and the feeling grew every minute passed that she was in Morganville.

Claire's mind was leading her down roads that seemed to be somewhat familiar, but she didn't exactly know where she was going. Claire's mind just kept showing her a picture of an old, antique looking house. Somehow, though, she could sense she was getting near, because her heart was beating out of her chest. Before Claire knew it, she was approaching the door of that antique house. Part of her wanted to run away, but another part of her, a bigger part, forced her forwards and she began knocking on the door. A pale girl dressed in all black, appearing to be gothic, opened the door and stared at Claire.

"Eve!" Claire yelled and trapped the gothic girl into a big hug. Claire was momentarily stunned by her impulse to do so, but then she began to remember. Certain things were still fuzzy, but this was a girl Claire loved, and a girl who loved Claire right back. The tears gliding down Eve's cheek seemed to prove that. _Oh, yeah, she cries a lot, _Claire reflected.

"Claire bear! Where the hell have you been?" Claire was about to reply when she glanced up and saw a man staring at her confused. He looked like a blonde angel, _Michael!_ Claire's mind screamed the name.

As soon as Eve released Claire, she ran over and pulled Michael into a tight hug. It didn't matter how hard she squeezed him, because she remembered he was a vampire, _but not the bad kind_, she mentally added. Claire felt him scruff her hair and sigh. "I've missed you, kid."

Claire remembered that being called a kid severely bothered her. It didn't have that much effect on her now, but that was probably just because she was exuberant to see everyone again. Then, Claire remembered another guy. _Shane! That's who you're in love with! That's who you've been waiting for! _Claire wanted to see him very badly, and when she heard footsteps padding down the stairs, she knew her wish would be granted.

But she got a lot more than what she wished for. Claire saw Shane, and he looked completely amazing, but in front of him was a blonde girl. Claire didn't recognize her, but her guts were telling her that something wasn't right. And when Michael and Eve shot Claire sympathetic glances, she definitely knew something was wrong.

Neither the girl or Shane was paying any attention to Claire, they were completely focused on one another, and then the girl planted a kiss on Shane's lips. It wasn't a skimpy one either, it was a deep kiss and Claire was pretty sure it had slight tongue. They kissed for a few heartbreaking seconds, and then the couple headed down the stairs, where they finally saw Claire standing in the doorway.

Claire saw Shane's eyes go wide and the girl seemed confused. Claire figured she should have been, since no one had bothered to introduce Claire, and the girl probably thought of Claire as a random stranger. Ordinarily, strangers didn't walk into your house, but Claire knew it probably wasn't that uncommon in Morganville.

"Hey, I'm Meghan." The girl flashed a warm smile and extended her hand. _Well, at least she's polite_, Claire noted. Claire also realized she was pretty too, and what guys would call "hot". She was skinny, but with curves and boobs, and her skin was sun-kissed. She had deep, brown eyes and long blonde hair.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Claire." Claire grabbed Meghan's hand and shook it once. She didn't really want to, but Claire didn't like being rude, and it wasn't like Meghan knew that Claire was madly in love with Shane. It was weird that even though Claire had been gone so long she could still feel her heart being shredded apart as the realization of Shane dating someone else sunk in.

"Oh, I like that name." Meghan turned towards Shane and wrapped him into a hug. "Oliver said he'll let me off early, and as soon as I clock out, I'm coming right over. Happy birthday, babe."

Claire focused her attention away from the couple and focused on her memories. Then she remembered that today was definitely Shane's birthday. _What a coincidence_, she sneered and almost rolled her eyes. Claire didn't really want to hear what Shane and Meghan were conversing about, so she focused back on Eve and Michael. "Oliver, eh?"

Eve seemed a little shocked at Claire's question. Claire reasoned it might have been because Eve thought that seeing Shane with another girl would have crushed Claire, which it did, but Claire wasn't letting it show. Eve finally came up with a decent answer. "Yeah. I still think he's scum, but Meghan thinks he's just about the greatest boss ever. Which of course, I used to think too, before I realized he was a blood sucking asshole."

Claire chuckled and then mentally complimented herself for keeping her composure. How many other girls could have their heart broken and manage to make it seem like they were just peachy? It was then that Claire realized Meghan was leaving and she was slightly glad. "Bye, everyone." Meghan waved and then exited, shutting the door behind her.

No one was speaking and Claire refused to glance at Shane. She didn't want to look at him right now, so she focused on Michael instead. "So how's Sam doing?"

Michael was looking at Claire with weary eyes and Claire didn't like that. Everyone was just going to have to get use to the new and improved Claire. She wasn't the same anymore. Claire didn't go around crying and complaining anymore, she dealt with it and moved on. "He's doing good. What about you? You, um, look really…different."

Claire remembered what she looked like when she left. She was short, pale, too skinny, and she had short, light colored hair. Claire was still short, seeing as how she was done growing, but she had filled out a little more. Her boobs were fuller and her hips gave her a slight hour glass shape. Of course, it wasn't like the hotter girls shape, but it was better than resembling a stick. Claire's new hair was a few inches past shoulder length and it was dyed a chocolate brown. Cara had insisted that Claire dye her hair that color, and Claire had to admit, she was glad she did. Claire's skin even had a slight tint to it now.

"You could almost be one of Monica's goons." Eve raised her eyebrows and Claire could tell Eve was skeptical of her new look. But, when a smile spread across her face, Claire could tell Eve approved. "But, you are gorgeous, I have to admit."

"Thanks, but you can still dress me Goth any time you want." Claire smiled and prayed Eve wouldn't take her up on that offer. It had taken Claire so long to get rid of her paleness; she certainly didn't want to wear make-up that purposefully returned her fair skin.

The silence was weighing in again and Claire finally glanced over to where Shane stood. She wasn't really sure why she did, but she just wanted to see him. Claire was shocked that Shane was still standing at the bottom of the stairs and he hadn't run up to his room. Claire almost turned away without saying a word, but Shane was staring at her, and she couldn't be bashful, not now. "Happy birthday."

Shane shrugged and glanced at the ground. "Thanks." He mumbled before turning to run up the stairs. Claire should have knew that was coming.

Claire turned back to Eve and Michael glancing down at her bags. "Um, am I still allowed to, um…" She trailed off, letting her sentence drag on uncompleted. Claire was tired and she wanted to collapse into her bed, but she didn't really feel right doing that anymore. It was like this place wasn't her home anymore, and she had to ask if she could go up to what was once her room.

Michael seemed to know what Claire was getting at and he answered her. "Oh, no, go ahead. You know where you're room is. Get settled and we'll call you down for dinner." Michael paused and then remembered, "Crap. Um, actually for tonight, we were going out to a bar for Shane's birthday, but…"

"No, don't worry about it. I'll probably be asleep for the rest of the night anyways. And I ate before I left, anyways." Claire knew that was a huge lie, but she felt it was necessary. Claire had just got back into town, and ruining plans was not on her to-do list. Claire knew she hadn't eaten a thing since yesterday's dinner, and in a five more hours, Claire would have gone without food for twenty four hours, but she didn't want to cause trouble on her first days back.

Michael was going to protest, and Claire could tell by the opening of his mouth, but before he could, Claire grabbed her bags and hustled up the stairs. She found her room and shut the door behind her, collapsing onto her bed. Claire was overwhelmed and she reasoned that she would sleep first and then unpack. So, Claire shut her eyes and sleep came within seconds.

________________________________________________________________________

**I apologize that this chapter kind of sucks and it took me a little longer than usually to write it. I would think of something, and then come up with something completely different, and re-write it. And I'm still not content -_- Ugh.**

**But on the plus side, I've got five more days of school left! :) Reviews, please. And thanks to the awesome people who've already reviewed.**


	7. Limited Options

Claire woke up when she heard chatter coming from downstairs. She was almost tempted to walk down stairs, but she stayed in her room for a few moments, listening in. Claire didn't want to barge in downstairs if it was a private conversation.

"Oh, so she just up and left, for no reason?" Claire was pretty sure that was Meghan voice. Claire was also pretty sure Meghan was asking about her, too, and Claire didn't like that. She preferred to stay away from attention, but what else could she expect? Claire had left for three months, and here she was again, arriving totally unexpected. There was no way to avoid the spotlight.

"She left letters, but no clear explanation. I guess she just needed a break from Morganville. That's understandable." Claire knew that was Michael. She thought it was nice that he was so calm about her departure, but after all, he was Michael, the most understanding person Claire knew. "Hey look, Eve and Shane are back. Heads up, though, I wouldn't really mention anything to them about Claire. It's a sensitive subject."

Claire strained her ears and she heard the faint noise of two car doors shutting. Claire remembered Eve's big, black car and she smiled at the image. Claire couldn't wait to ride in it again. "Hey, we're back and we got cake. I had to threaten Shane to get him to pick out which one he wanted, though. Jeez, he won't even let anyone throw a fit for his damn birthday. Any words from Claire?" That was Eve who spoke and Claire gave a tiny smile. It was nice to know that Eve was concerned for her well being, especially after she had ditched her, leaving a simple letter as an excuse. Claire was also amused that Shane hadn't changed one bit.

"Nope, she's still asleep. I guess we should just let her get some rest for now. She's probably not in the mood for some loud and noisy music tonight, anyways." Michael was right about that. Claire had a terrible headache and she didn't want to set foot in public today. After being gone for so long, Claire knew she would attract a large amount of attention.

Claire waited for a few moments and then she heard the group leave, shutting the door behind them. Claire realized that she wasn't really sleepy anymore, and apparently, neither was her stomach. She heard a loud growl erupt from within and she decided to go search for some food. Claire climbed out of bed, and when she finally reached the kitchen, she sighed as she caught a glance at what remained in the fridge. Beer and chili, as usual. _Great, I can either get drunk or eat a poor cow._

Claire shut the fridge back and sighed. Claire was absolutely starving, so bad that she almost considered quitting her vegetarian lifestyle, but decided against it. She had been meat-free for the past two months, and Claire wasn't going to give in for a moment of weakness. Claire was stronger than that.

But Claire realized that she, to her chagrin, was going to have to go out in public tonight if she wanted to soothe her aching belly. Claire knew that there was no way she could go another hour without food, maybe not even another minute. She was so hungry that her belly hadn't even ceased growling for a second, and that was never a good sign. Claire checked in the mirror, and concluded she looked decent enough to go out. Her skirt and shirt were slightly wrinkled, but for once, Claire didn't mind.

__________________________________________________________________

Claire was relieved that she only had to walk fifteen minutes before she reached a McDonalds, and even more joyful that it was virtually empty. _Thank God, no long lines._ Claire went up to the cashier and quickly ordered a large fry and Oreo McFlurry. It only took about a minute for her to receive her order, and she sat down at a corner table, staring out the window while she ate. She realized that Common Grounds had quite the crowd tonight, and glancing around at the parking lot, she noticed Eve's big, black vehicle.

Claire was reaching for another fry when she felt her hand reach the bottom of the box. She was a little disappointed that she was done with her meal so quickly, but Claire wasn't going to order anything else. Stuffing herself would only cause her to puke up her food later, and then her stomach would be empty again. Claire left McDonalds, before she changed her mind about ordering more, and headed towards Common Grounds. She wasn't too sure why, but Claire was suddenly over her bashfulness of being seen in public. Claire had a newfound feeling of curiosity.

Claire wanted to see all of Morganville's residents, and judging by the looks of Common Grounds, that's where just about everyone was. Maybe Claire would just walk in for a second, catch a glance at the crowd, and then leave. When Claire pushed open the door of Common Grounds, she was hit with a blast of loud cheers and music. Claire glanced up at the stage and realized Michael was playing. _Wow, he's got even better since the last time I left. I never even thought that was possible._

Claire glanced around at the crowd and saw quite a few people she recognized. Shane, Eve, and Meghan were sitting together at a table. Eve was completely lost in Michael's music, and Shane and Meghan were completely lost in each other. That made Claire's stomach flip a little, but she ignored it. Next Claire noticed Monica with some boy, probably her boy toy for the night. Then, in the corner of the room, Claire saw Oliver. He didn't exactly look happy, but he didn't appear to be pissed, either. He seemed content.

It took a few moments before Claire noticed Sam sitting at the bar, with a coffee in hand. He was alone, so Claire decided to approach him, and offer her company. "Hey, Sam." Claire bit her lip as Sam glanced at her, and a confused look spread across his face, before it smoothed out a second later. Did Claire really look so different that it took Sam a few moments to recognize her? _No, he's probably just having a hard time believing I'm back,_ Claire told herself.

"Claire? Wow, I wasn't really expecting seeing you any time soon." Claire saw Sam's eyes travel up and down her body, but not in a perverted way, just taking in all the changes. Still, Claire felt her cheeks turn a slight red, and Sam instantly realized he was making her uncomfortable. "Oh, sorry, it's just that you look really different."

"Oh, um, it's okay. And, yeah, I've been hearing that a lot lately." Claire realized she wanted to change the subject. "So, uh, how have you been?" Claire sat down on a stool next to Sam and ordered herself a cup of coffee. Sam was about to answer, because his mouth had opened, but he froze and was focused on something behind Claire. She followed his gaze and realized that Oliver was headed over.

It only took about a second before Oliver approached Claire, draping his arm over Claire's shoulder, sending a chill down Claire's spine. She didn't like being in such a close proximity to Oliver. "Well, look what the cat dragged in. And, amazingly, she's still alive."

Claire almost shook off Oliver's arm, but she would play nice for now. Tonight was her first night back, and she couldn't really go around pissing off any big vampires, yet. "Aw, I missed you too, Oliver." She shot Oliver an innocent face, and he looked disgusted and annoyed. That was exactly what Claire had been expecting. Suddenly, Claire found herself wondering if anything or anyone in Morganville had changed. _Yeah, your bastard of a boyfriend got a new girl_, Claire's mind scoffed.

"Oliver, is there a particular reason you're here?" Oliver didn't bother to glance over at Sam, he kept his eyes on Claire, and Claire was fighting to not blush or cower. It would only encourage Oliver.

"Is this not my coffee shop?" Sam didn't even bother to answer Oliver's smart ass reply; instead he waited for a decent answer. "I just came over to see if it was actually Claire. I was having trouble believing that she escaped death after fleeing from Morganville without permission. You do know, child, you should be dead right now?"

"I kinda knew that, captain obvious." Claire sighed. Of course she knew that, and even if she hadn't known it, her protection bracelet slitting her wrists seemed to be a pretty good warning. Focusing back on the music, Claire heard Michael playing Happy Birthday for Shane, and the whole crowd was singing along. Claire caught a glance at Shane, and as she expected, he was embarrassed.

Claire considered staying longer, but decided against it. After all, the only reason she came into Common Grounds was to see everyone she knew. Now that she had accomplished that, there wasn't really a reason to stay. Claire excused herself from Sam and Oliver, and left. She knew it wasn't exactly safe to walk the dark streets of Morganville alone, especially not without protection, but how else was she going to get home?

Claire was walking at a fast pace when she heard someone calling after her. She didn't dare to turn around, because she knew that in Morganville, it was a death wish. She listened to the footsteps behind her and noticed that the follower was walking extremely fast, so Claire began running. It was useless, though, because the person chasing Claire passed by, and stood dead in front of her.

Claire let out a sigh of relief when she realized he wasn't a vampire, but instead, just a teenage boy. He looked like he might have been in his sophomore year of college. "Whoa, I wasn't trying to scare you or anything. I just saw you leaving alone, and didn't really think it was safe. It's not very smart, either."

"So you're calling me stupid?" Claire laughed and the boy chuckled with her. Claire noticed he had a lot of muscle, almost as much as Shane, and he was cute too, but not as much as Shane. Claire scolded herself for comparing the boy to Shane. _That's not healthy_, her mind stated. _He ditched you, remember?_ "I'm Claire." Claire extended her hand.

The boy grabbed and shook Claire's hand, smiling wide. "Nice to meet you, I'm Chase. Do you want some company on your walk?" Claire thought about it for a moment, and then she glanced down at Chase's wrist, noticing he was wearing a bracelet.

Claire quickly concluded that walking with Chase might have lowered the risk of being a vampire's snack, so she accepted the offer, and began walking towards the glass house. Claire and Chase was less than a minute away from the house when Claire began thinking. Tonight was Shane's birthday, and she was pretty sure Meghan would be spending the night. That meant birthday sex, and Claire could not stand to hear or imagine that. She stopped dead in her tracks.

Chase glanced over at her with concerned eyes and Claire glanced at the ground. She felt embarrassed that she couldn't go home, because hearing Shane with another girl would crush her. Claire thought she was strong enough to handle the turns that life took, but apparently not this turn. "I'm sorry, but I, um, I just remembered I'm staying at a motel tonight. My house is…being repainted, and I can't stand paint fumes." Claire bit her lip and knew that was a pathetic attempt at lying.

Chase shot Claire a look. "I think even the most ditzy person in Morganville can tell you're lying. What gives?" Claire wasn't really sure she could tell Chase. Would he think she was stupid and naïve? Would he think she had some childish schoolgirl crush and that was no reason for her to not want to sleep in her own bed tonight?

Claire decided she would give some variation of the truth. "It's just that my boyfriend and I aren't on the greatest terms right now. Actually, I think he's my ex-boyfriend now, and I really don't want to face him tonight." Claire felt her eyes stinging and she bit her tongue. She was not going to cry over Shane. He was a dick for leaving her.

Chase nodded, apparently content with the excuse. "That's understandable. But I wouldn't really recommend staying at a motel in Morganville." Chase paused and allowed Claire to let his warning sink in, and then he continued on. "It's where Vampires do most of there, um, activities with humans. Plus, it's the weekend, so that means every motel in Morganville is swarming with vamps."

Claire thought for a moment, and realized that Chase was probably right, but she didn't have any where else to go. "That's true, but I don't exactly have any relatives or friends I could stay with. So, it's either a motel or the streets, and the streets are definitely a lot worse than a motel."

"You could stay with me." Chase didn't even hesitate to offer, which made Claire weary. Who went around Morganville offering shelter to strangers? It was bad enough when strangers in a normal town offered for you to stay in their house, but in Morganville? Claire knew that was a red flag, but Chase continued on. "I know, you don't know me, and you're right to have your doubts about my intentions, but I promise, no funny business." Chase held his hands up in surrender and Claire let out a laugh.

Claire reviewed her three options. She could just stay at the Glass house and do her best to ignore what Shane and Meghan would be doing._ No way in hell I'm doing that. I actually think I would prefer being bitten by a vamp._ So, Claire could either spend the night in a motel or spend it with Chase. In a motel, she was sure to face some sort of trouble, but with Chase, there was the slight possibility that maybe she could have a peaceful night. Claire sighed in defeat and looked up at Chase. "Lead the way."

________________________________________________________________________

**So, yeah, thanks once again to all my reviewers! :D Oh, & for those who are curious, my story takes place before Claire's parents moved to Morganville or Bishop came to town. **

**P.S. I apologize for the randomness of turning Claire into a vegetarian. I just kinda wanted to put an emphasis on how much Claire has changed. & I'm sorry for any errors in this chapter. I'm extremely tired & it's been a long week. Reviews are appreciated!**


	8. More Mistakes & Lies

"_You disobeyed me, Claire. You swore your loyalty to me and then you left Morganville without permission. That's unforgivable." Amelie was staring coldly at Claire. Her attire wasn't her usual white; today she had on a black gown. Something that looked like Eve would wear to prom. Claire also noted that Amelie looked more threatening today than she ever had before and that sent shivers up Claire's spine._

"_I know, but I had to do it. My friend was…" Claire trailed off as she felt intense pain around her wrist. She quickly glanced down at it, recognizing that it was the wrist scarred from the day when her founder's bracelet cut her flesh after attempting to leave Morganville. And now it was open again, for no apparent reason, bleeding profusely. Claire began panicking at her sudden blood loss, but when she realized was less than a foot away from a vampire, her heart almost stopped beating. She knew this wasn't going to end well._

"_Hmm, dessert before dinner. I've always been the traditional kind of girl, saving dessert for after dinner, but I believe I'm allowed a slip up every century or so. I just hope this doesn't ruin my appetite." Amelie grabbed Claire before she could even register to run away. Claire could feel Amelie's cold breath and it wasn't long before Claire felt teeth begin to sink into her neck…_

Claire woke up with a startling scream. She glanced around at her surroundings and realized she wasn't in her room at the glass house. _Oh, Jesus, where the hell am I?_ The room that she was currently in had navy blue walls with lots of football posters hung up on the wall, and trophies resting on shelves. Claire let out a sigh of relief when she remembered that she opted to spend the night with Chase, but speaking of, where had he gone?

Claire crept out of bed and began looking around. The layout of this house was slightly different from the Glass house. Chase's bedroom, another bedroom, a living room, and a kitchen were downstairs. Claire had no idea what was upstairs, though. She figured it was probably a bathroom and maybe more bedrooms, but she hadn't been up there to find out, yet.

When Claire didn't find Chase anywhere downstairs, she glanced at the stairs and bit her lip. She didn't want to go upstairs. In Morganville, it wasn't very safe to go around exploring, especially not in houses or buildings designed by vampires. Plus, Claire didn't really even know Chase that well. What would he think of her wondering carelessly around the house?

Claire settled for calling out Chase's name, hoping that he would be able to her. She resisted letting out a nervous chuckle when she remembered that the stupid girls in horror movies always called out before the killer would mercilessly murder them. _Please, don't let this turn into a real life horror movie_. Claire waited a few moments, with increasing anxiety, until Chase appeared at the top of the stairs and flashed a smile. Apparently, he was more of a morning person than Shane. "Hey sleepy head, do you want some breakfast? I can make a kick ass bowl of Coco Puffs."

Claire laughed at Chase's offer. "Thanks, but I think I should really head home. I don't want my friends to be too worried about me." Claire mentally slapped herself. She should have called Eve or Michael and let them know that she wasn't going to be home last night. They would probably have a heart attack if they woke up and she wasn't there. But, what if they were already up? _Oh, no, please let them still be sleeping... _"Hey, do you know what time it is?"

"Yeah, it's eleven thirty." Claire felt her eyes bulge out of her sockets and she went into a minor panic attack, which caused Chase to rush down the stairs to her. "Whoa, did I make you late or something? I can give you a ride if that will help."

"No, I don't have to be anywhere, but I think my friends might be freaking out that I didn't come home last night. This is Morganville, you know?"

"Oh, well, let me grab my keys and I'll get you home. But, if you and your boyfriend had a fight last night, they probably figured why you didn't come home." Claire was confused at first, but then she remembered her lie that she told Chase. _Oh, great, my lie is already backfiring._

Claire watched impatiently as Chase ran upstairs to retrieve his keys and rushed out the door once he found them. Her first night back and she already freaked out everyone? Oh, that was not going to end well.

________________________________________________________________________

The ride to the Glass House wasn't very long, but Claire's heart was beating anxiously as every second passed. She was praying that no one had called the police and a search team wasn't out looking for her. But, then another thought hit her. What if Michael or Eve or Shane didn't even care? Claire had left once before, what if they thought she did it again? Immediately, Claire stopped her thoughts. She didn't want to think negatively of her friends. She knew they cared a lot about her, always have and always would.

When Claire glanced out of her window she saw that she had arrived at the Glass house, and she turned to look at Chase. "Thank you so much for, well, everything."

Chase laughed and shrugged it off. "Hey, no problem. Maybe I'll see you around?"

"Yeah, I hope I do see you around. After all, Morganville isn't that big, anyways." Claire paused, and bit her lip. She never had been very good with goodbyes, not even the little ones. "Alright well, bye, and thanks again." Claire got out of the car and shut the door behind her. She reached the porch and heard Chase honk his horn, so she turned around to wave good bye. And when she turned back around, the front door was open, with Shane staring at her in silence. Claire nervously let out a laugh, hoping to ease the situation. "Oh, uh, you're up early."

Shane was taking up the whole doorway and there was no way Claire could get by, which was beginning to irritate her. All she wanted to do was to get out of the hot sun and collapse onto her bed where there was air conditioning. But, no, Shane had to block the entrance. "You know that Eve and Michael flipped when you didn't come home, right? Especially Eve, she threatened to call the cops."

Claire dropped her head in defeat and felt ashamed of herself. "I should have known that was going to happen, but I couldn't come home last night, I…" She began trailing off. What was she going to say? _Shane, you see, I didn't want to see you and Meghan last night, so I spent the night with a random stranger. But, he was nice; you would have liked him._ Yeah, that would definitely not work.

"Well, I saved your ass." Claire shot Shane a look. How had he saved her? Did that mean that she was spared, and the cops hadn't been called? When Claire didn't speak anymore, Shane took that as his opportunity to explain. "I managed to persuade them that you were probably just catching up with old friends, so Eve compromised that if you were home before noon, she wouldn't call the cops."

Claire sighed and wanted to hug Shane at that moment, but she refrained from doing so. Shane would be getting no hugs from her any time soon, seeing as how he had Meghan for that now. Claire then realized that it was probably almost noon, so she began panicking again. She had been doing a lot of that today. "Crap, well, move!" Somehow, she managed to push past Shane, probably because her push came as a shock to him and he stumbled. Claire was grateful for whatever reason, regardless, and she ran into the kitchen.

"Your welcome!" Shane called after her. _Oh, it's nice to see him being a dick again._ Claire didn't have time to reply with something smart, though. She needed to call Eve before the cops began searching through Morganville. That would bring attention onto Claire's arrival, which wasn't needed, especially not since Amelie was, hopefully, still unaware of her return.

As soon as Claire dialed Eve's cell, she picked up on the first ring. "Shane! Hey, is she home, yet?"

"Um, I'm not Shane, but I think I know who you're referring to, and yeah, she's home." Claire heard Eve sigh into the phone, but it wasn't long before a pissed off Eve began scolding her. _I should have expected that._

"Claire! What the hell were you thinking? And where were you? Do you know how worried we were?" The questions rung through Claire's mind as she tried to find a decent way to answer. She had already lied enough the past two days, and she didn't want to make a habit of that, but surely one more time couldn't hurt, right? Besides, she wasn't very proud of the true reason of why she hadn't stayed in the Glass house last night.

"I met up with some old friends and I just lost track of the time. I was going to call, but I sort of fell asleep before I actually did." Claire sighed, proud, but yet disgusted with herself. Her lie was a good one, believable too, but wasn't it bad that lying was beginning to be so easy?

"Well, don't you ever forget again! I was totally flipping out." The rest of the conversation only lasted for a few more moments, seeing as how Eve had to get back to work. Claire apologized for behavior, and Eve replied by saying they'd talk more about it later. Apparently, she wasn't going to quickly forgive Claire for her moment of carelessness. Claire then hung up and turned around, realizing that Shane had been behind her the whole conversation.

"So, you haven't even been back for a full twenty four hours and you're already lying? Well, you're off to a good start." Shane shook his head at Claire, who just stared back at him in shock. He knew. But how? Claire sighed in defeat and prepared to explain. It was going to be a long story, but she had at least three hours before Michael or Eve was expected to be home. _I hope that's long enough._

**So, this chapter annoys me for some reason. I think it's because I rushed it? But, I wanted to give you guys a Shane & Claire moment as soon as possible. So, yeah, you can expect that in the next chapter :D I appreciate all the reviews.**

**Oh, and I hope I improved on the whole using Claire's name too much. I tried, I even spent extra time editing it, but it's a bad force of habit. So, let me know on how I did with that?**


	9. Postponing the Truth

"Excuse me? How do you know I'm lying?" Claire questioned Shane incredulously. Okay, so maybe she wasn't ready to tell the truth just yet. But, she would eventually. It would just be on her own terms, not with someone pressuring her.

"Claire, I saw the guy who brought you home. He moved here two months ago, and you've been gone for the past three months. Therefore, he's not an old friend like you told Eve. So, explain to me what the hell is going on with you and why you just lied to your best friend." Shane was getting irritated with Claire, she could tell by the look in his eyes, but she wasn't giving up yet. She wasn't even close to being ready for this confrontation.

"How do you know how long he's been in Morganville? Maybe he's been here a while, but you've been too busy slacking off to notice him." Claire was shocked with her tone. She never caught an attitude, especially not with Shane. And, here she was, snapping at him.

"Well, for starters, Morganville isn't that big. Second, I don't spend every minute of the day doing absolutely nothing. And third, he's Meghan's brother, Chase." Claire felt her jaw drop a little. _Chase is Meghan's brother?_ Well, talk about surprises.

"Fine, I lied! You caught me, happy now? Last night I went to Common Grounds, and as I was leaving, I ran into Chase. He told me that I could spend the night with him and I accepted. No big deal." Claire could feel the heat burning in her cheeks. She was praying that Shane wouldn't ask her why she couldn't have just slept in the Glass House.

"Do you know how stupid that was? You didn't even know who the hell he was! What if he was some crazy psycho?" Oh great, now Shane was yelling, too. Claire was glad that no one else was in the house, because this was beginning to be a scene.

"I know it was stupid! That's why I lied, so Eve wouldn't give me shit about it. But, here you are, nagging at me, taking her place." Claire angrily rolled her eyes. The situation definitely wasn't the best, but at least she was getting somewhere with the truth. That was a start, right?

"That makes no sense! Why couldn't you just stay here?" There was a pause, and then Shane continued, in a monotone voice. "Did you sleep with him?"

Claire was outraged. "I can't believe you would think that! What? Just because I went away for three months, I turned into a whore? Is that what you think?" _He's the one who can't even keep his legs closed for three months! Not me. _Luckily,Claire was able to keep her thoughts to herself, but she felt the urge to put him in his place. He had no right to even think such a thing of her.

"Three months is a long time, Claire! Where the hell have you been? Because no one seems to know, and don't you dare lie to me; you've done enough of that." Shane was staring hard at Claire, and she wanted to do nothing more than hide behind the sofa. His glare was that intense.

Claire took a deep breath and calmed her voice. "I was with a friend. She needed me." She instantly felt a stab at her heart and she knew she couldn't talk anymore about it. The tears were already stinging at her eyes, and she was hoping that Shane wouldn't notice her red-rimmed eyes.

Shane sighed and ran his hand through his hair, almost like he was giving up. "Claire, what friend? Why can't you just give me a decent explanation, please?" He sounded so desperate, and that broke Claire's heart. If she could, Claire would have spilt her guts to him, but right now talking would just cause her pain. She couldn't handle anymore pain.

"A dead friend." The tears spilled out of Claire's eyes as her voice cracked. _Damn it!_ She scolded herself and bolted towards the door, not bothering to look back at Shane. She would deal with him later, but she didn't want to be near him right now.

Claire thought for a moment and wasn't sure where to go. _Myrnin_.She smiled at her crazy vampire friend and planned to visit him. After all, vampires don't change, right? It would be nice to see someone who hadn't completely moved on after Claire left.

*******

Claire was walking down the street, when she heard a familiar voice call to her. She turned around and saw Katherine Day sporting a friendly smile. "Dear child, I ain't seen you around here in a while. Come on over here and have some lemonade. Where've you been?"

Claire approached Grandma Day on the porch and took the glass of delicious lemonade she offered. "I, um, left Morganville for a while. Thanks for the lemonade."

"Your welcome. You say you left?" Grandma Day seemed to ponder for a moment and then she let out a sigh. "You must be even more special than what I thought. Or maybe you're just that lucky. No one ever leaves Morganville and lives to talk about it."

"So I figured." Claire's mind traveled to the day when she left Morganville, and her bracelet slashed her wrist. _I don't think I was meant to live and talk about it._

As if Grandma Day could read minds, she nodded towards Claire's wrist. "Where's your bracelet? You know it's not safe to walk around town without it, especially not you. As many vampires you've crossed. I imagine Amelie's one now, too. But she won't stay angry with you for too long; your important to her."

Claire snorted. "I'm just a silly human, and I screwed her over, _I_ screwed the founder of this town over. There is no way I'm getting forgiveness. As for the bracelet, it's gone. I crossed Morganville's border and it disintegrated. I think that's proof I'm not getting forgiveness."

Grandma Day just nodded, taking a moment to process it all. Then, she changed the subject completely. That was always a nice sign. "So, where were you headed?"

"I was going to visit a friend. I guess I better be on my way now, before it gets dark. I'm really in trouble if I'm out past dark with no bracelet."

"Alright, dear. Just be safe and come back soon." Grandma Day waved as Claire descended the stairs.

Myrnin would be glad to see her. Claire was just hoping that he wasn't too mad at her for leaving and forcing him to work alone, but Claire would explain. At least she'd _try_ to explain. She'd probably get farther with Myrnin than she would Shane, anyways. Claire sighed internally at the though. Things between her and Shane were so messed up, but she vowed to fix them, and soon.

**So, the Shane and Claire moment wasn't exactly a happy one, but I never said it would have been. But look at it this way, they've got all their negative feelings out of the way now, so maybe they can start working on their relationship…whether it's friendly or romantic I won't say :D **

**But, in the next chapter we get to see our beloved, crazy vampire Myrnin. Who doesn't love them some Myrnin?**


	10. Back to Basics

**Sorry for being a little late in posting! I've been in so much trouble, you wouldn't believe it. I hope you accept my apologies, but if not, you can form an angry mob and get my mom. She's the one who grounded me, haha xD**

**Well, without further ado…**

Claire slowly descended the stairs, unsure of what to expect when she reached the bottom. Would Myrnin be stable? Would anyone have taken the place of being Myrnin's assistant to help with finding a cure for the disease? Surely someone had. Amelie wouldn't let the departure of Claire cause the death of her kind. She would do everything in her power to find someone good enough to take Claire's place.

But, what if she hadn't? What if there was no one who _could_ take Claire's place? Guilt began to wash over Claire, but she simply brushed it off. If Amelie hadn't found a replacement, then it would be her own fault for the death of her kind. She was a powerful vampire, and it would have been an easy task for her to find someone else smart enough to help Myrnin. But, it wasn't only an intelligent person Amelie needed. She needed someone she could trust.

_Well, I threw that little bit of trust out of the window_, Claire scoffed. She had finally reached the bottom of the stairs and she began to cautiously look around for any signs of Myrnin. _Please, let him be sane._ Then, her eyes finally found the crazy vampire pretending to read a book. After a few more moments, Myrnin glanced away from his book, and smiled at Claire. "Claire, my child, where have you been these past ninety days?"

He didn't seem to be mad, and that made Claire's heart slow to a normal pace. "I, um, had some stuff back home to deal with." She scratched the back of her head, and decided to change the subject, before furthering questioning came. "So, how have you been?"

Myrnin laughed his manic laugh, shut his book, and then focused all his attention on Claire. "I've been fair, considering the conditions. I've got a new assistant now, but he isn't nearly half as intelligent as you. And his scent, don't get me started on that, he always smells of nicotine and whiskey. It's no wonder he seems to get dumber every day, he's killing his brain cells." Myrnin inhaled through his nose. "Speaking of scent, you don't smell like that boy of yours. I would expect that after your return from such a long absence, every inch of your body would smell like him."

Claire felt her mouth drop open, and heat begin to pool in her cheeks. She wanted to tell Myrnin about Shane, but why would an ancient vampire have any care over Claire's guy troubles? "Um, I don't really think you'll smell his scent on me anymore. We, um, aren't…" She couldn't finish, because the tears began to pool in her eyes._ Damn it! I'm not supposed to cry in front of a vampire; that makes me seem even weaker than what I already am._

Myrnin sighed and gently shook his head. "So I take it you already found out he moved on to the new girl in town. It's such a pity, you know? You did a lot of good for that boy."

In spite of herself, Claire let out a laugh. It sounded foreign to her ears, but it was nice to finally hear it again. "Myrnin, I never took you as one to keep up on town gossip."

"Ah, I wouldn't call it gossip, just stuff I couldn't escape from hearing." Claire waited for Myrnin to continue, seeing as how she was at a lack of words. "The glass residents are quite frequently a topic brought into conversations, and seeing as how my new assistant likes to pass time with mindless chatter, I hear my fair share of 'gossip'."

Claire bit her lip. Everyone in Morganville probably knew by now that Shane had ditched her for Meghan, and that made the situation even more awkward. "So, who is this new assistant of yours, anyways?"

Myrnin seemed to be hesitant, and it only took Clare a second to realize why. The whole disease subject was supposed to be a secret. Now that Claire was no longer a part of the cure, she probably wasn't supposed to be told anything else pertaining to the illness. "It's okay, Myrnin, you don't have to tell me. I shouldn't have asked, anyways." Then, a question plagued her mind, and the only person she could ask, and get the truth, was Myrnin. "Is Amelie angry that I left?"

Claire could see the slight frown that formed on Myrnin's lips, and he took a moment to gather his thoughts. "Angry? I would say that she was at first, furious actually, but then it turned into disappointment and hopelessness. It kind of resembled her attitude before you came to Morganville the first time. She knew that her kind would eventually die out due to the disease, but when you came, you could see some kind of newfound hope fill her. Our kind actually had a chance to survive, but when you left, that chance was gone."

Claire let her head drop. She killed Amelie's hope, and that made her feel like dirt. It didn't matter that Amelie was sometimes a selfish vampire who only worried about herself and her kind. Or that sometimes she didn't give a damn about the humans, except for the fact that she had to preserve some for dinner. All that mattered was that Claire had let so many people down. Amelie, Myrnin, Oliver, Sam, Michael, and every other vampire in Morganville were going to die because of Claire. And that thought caused Claire to explode.

"I'm so stupid! I never wanted to hurt anyone; not you, not Amelie, not Shane, not anybody, but that's exactly what I did. I screwed over the whole entire vampire population, I crossed Amelie, and I ditched Shane." Claire's emotions finally boiled over, and the tears cascaded down her cheeks. She wasn't supposed to be crying, but she couldn't keep it bottled up anymore, she needed a release. Claire just wished she had exploded in private, instead of in front of Myrnin.

He seemed taken aback by her sudden outburst, and puzzled as to what he should do. "Claire, I hope you don't take me to be emotionless, but I'm not really sure how to console you in this current state. As you can imagine, I haven't seen anyone cry in at least a decade. But, ah, the smell of salt water does remind me of beaches."

Claire knew the perfect way for Myrnin to console her, but she wasn't sure he would approve. She would ask, though. "I could use a hug."

Myrnin chuckled, and at first Claire thought he was laughing at her request, but then he took a step forward. It wasn't long before the space between Myrnin and Claire was closed, and he wrapped his arms around her. The coldness didn't bother Claire, either, seeing as how she was use to the brotherly hugs of Michael. She missed those hugs.

All too quickly, Myrnin pulled away. "Alright, you should be on your way now. My sanity is due to expire soon, and it's getting dark, too. Seeing as how your protection is gone, your journey home needs to be made in daylight."

Claire was shocked. He knew she had lost protection, but how? _Your bracelet isn't around your wrist, that's how._ Claire began to walk to the stairs, but managed to hear Myrnin speak to her. "Oh, nice change of wardrobe, by the way."

Claire paused for a moment, and then looked down at her clothing. She was wearing a low-cut camisole and an extremely short skirt. Claire felt foolish now. Jeans and tees were more her thing, and she was questioning why she ever bought the outfit in the first place. _Because I wanted to change. I was tired of being mediocre and average Claire._ As she was climbing the stairs, Claire began to reflect on the new her. Playing dress up for a while was nice, but it wasn't who she was. Claire was never supposed to be hot. She was meant to be a good friend and someone with brains. So, would Claire be the brains or the beauty? _Screw beauty._ Claire was ready to go back to the way she was and to the way everything else was. She was ready to go back to Shane.

**So, how was the Myrnin and Claire moment? I hope you liked it, seeing as how it was a fairly positive conversation, unlike the Shane and Claire confrontation. Once again, I'd like to apologize for being late in posting, but I'll try to make it up to my lovely readers :D Well, reviews are always appreciated. Let me know what you think.**


	11. Coming Clean

As soon as Claire walked through the door, she could feel disapproving eyes on her. Eyes that belonged to Eve. "Claire, what the hell is going on with you? I mean, you spent last night with some random strange guy and then I come home to find out from Shane that you left again. That's two heart attacks I've almost had within twenty four hours."

Damn, so Shane snitched on her. Well, if there was ever a better time for Claire to come clean, it would be now. "Yeah, I know, I've got a lot of explaining to do. Shane isn't around, is he?" Because Claire was not going to spill her guts if Shane was within hearing range. Eve nodded, and she continued. "Last night, I met a really nice guy and I slept at his house. I didn't do anything, I swear. I slept in a completely different bed. I just couldn't come home, and I know it was a stupid move of me, but sleeping here just didn't feel right."

"Didn't feel right?" Eve raised her voice, and Claire knew from experience that that was never a good thing. That usually meant that you were about to get your ass chewed out. "You slept here for months! Why all of a sudden did it not feel right? You could have been killed, so tell me, what is this spectacular reason on why you risked your life?" Claire looked at the ground and bit her lip. _Please, don't make me say it_, she mentally pleaded. Too bad Eve couldn't take the hint. "I'm waiting, Claire."

Well, it was now or never. "Because I couldn't stand to be in the room across from Shane and his new girlfriend! To have to hear her moaning Shane's name, do you know how much that would kill me? So yeah, I might have put my life in danger, but it was sure a hell of a lot better than hearing my ex-boyfriend doing it with some other girl, even though I'm still madly in love with him! That's a whole other kind of death; that's like suicide."

Eve's mouth dropped a little as she let Claire's speech sink in. And before she could say anything else, Michael and Shane came through the door. Claire didn't fail to notice that Shane was shooting her daggers, while Michael just looked relieved. "Claire, where the hell have you been? Shane and I were looking everywhere for you."

Before see could reply, Eve cut in. "House meeting, right now." The way she stated it meant it wasn't up for debate, so everyone took a seat in the living room. "Okay, so apparently we need to make up some house rules. And, the first rule is that you don't go wondering around town without telling someone." Claire looked at the ground, because she knew that rule was directed towards her. She felt a little ashamed that she was the reason house rules needed to be established. "Second rule, no sex in this house."

Immediately, Claire's head shot up and she could see the boy's dazed expressions. Oh, they were so not going to like her after this family meeting. Shane was the first to speak. "What? You've got to be kidding me. Why would you come up with that dumb rule?"

Michael was about to say something, but Eve shot him a look that said 'side with Shane and you won't be getting any sex at all'. "Look, I just feel that with everyone in this house having sex, we're setting a bad example for Claire." Claire was glad that Eve didn't tell the real reason as to why there was a no sex rule. She would never have been able to show her face in the house again. "If we support abstinence, then Claire won't feel the need to spend the night with guys." Okay, so maybe now Claire wasn't so glad that Eve was lying.

Shane looked at Claire in shock. "You told me you didn't sleep with him." She wasn't really sure how to answer that. Of course she didn't sleep with Chase, but if she told Shane that, Eve would be forced to tell the real reason as to why there was a no sex rule. And then everyone would know that she still loved Shane. That would make her seem weak and naïve.

"Like I said before, I'm not some kind of slut, Shane. And my personal life is absolutely none of your business." Claire sighed. It wasn't the truth, but it wasn't a lie either. That would have to be good enough if she planned to keep her true feelings secret.

"I wouldn't be so sure of that", Shane mumbled before heading towards the door.

Eve called after him, though. "Hey, remember house rule number one! No leaving without telling someone where you're going!"

Shane didn't even turn to look at her; he just kept walking. "Meghan's house, and don't wait up. I'll be spending the night with her due to house rule number two."

Claire felt a stab in her chest, and she wasn't sure if it was because of guilt or heartbreak. Probably a little bit of both. When the front door slammed, she turned to look at Michael and Eve, decided to voice her opinion. "Look, I think you should veto rule number two. My own stupidity and promiscuousness is my fault. I can't blame you guys, so you shouldn't have to limit your…night activities. If anything, you should continue them, so the idea of a monogamous relationship rubs off on me."

Claire was rambling, and it wasn't until Eve laughed that she shut up. "Shane's gone now, Claire, you don't need to pretend anymore. But, wow, the idea of you being promiscuous. I don't think I could ever picture such a thing. Mary's got nothing on you."

Michael was looking completely lost, and Claire hesitated for a moment. After she realized her secret was safe with him, she decided to explain everything. "Michael, I didn't have sex with that guy last night. I might have spent the night, but I slept in a completely different bed than him."

Eve decided to take over from there. "Yeah, the whole no sex rule was because Shane is such an inconsiderate dick that he doesn't have enough decency to keep his legs closed when Claire's right across the hall. And just so you know, that rule doesn't apply to us." To prove it, she reached up and placed a sweet kiss across Michael's lips.

He let out a nervous laugh. "Wow, you really had me worried for a second." Then, he turned towards Claire with a sympathetic look. "You still love him, don't you?"

That was another question Claire didn't know how to answer. Was it pathetic to admit that she loved a guy who already had another girlfriend? "Well, we never really had a formal break-up. So, I didn't really have the time to get any closure. I come home, expecting him to welcome me with open arms, but instead his arms are already too occupied with another girl. Seeing them just makes me feel…awkward." Actually, she felt more heartbroken than awkward, but one little adjective didn't make a difference.

Michael stepped forward and enclosed Claire into a hug, and then Eve joined in shortly after. It would almost be classified as a group hug, but Shane wasn't there. "Look, just know that he still cares about you. He might be acting like a jerk right now, but I've known Shane for years, and once you're his friend, you stay his friend." Michael ruffled her hair, and she sighed. The key word there was 'friend'. Claire didn't want to be Shane's friend. She wanted to be his _girlfriend_.

Eve seemed to pick up on Claire's discontent, so she decided to offer her comforting words. "Shane and Meghan, they won't last long. She's nothing compared to you, and once Shane realizes he royally fu-" She paused and took a moment to censor herself. "Once he realizes he made a huge mistake, he'll be begging for your forgiveness. Sorry about my little slip of the tongue. I guess I'm going to have to get used to having a kid in the house again."

"And you're also going to have to get used to not calling me a kid. I don't like that, remember?" Claire smiled; glad to have things at least back to semi-normalness.

"Yeah, I remember, but it's still fun to tease you." Eve then looked down at Claire's outfit. "Speaking of things to tease you on, where did the rest of your skirt go?"

"Yeah, about that, can you excuse me while I go change?" Claire ran upstairs, discarded her skimpy clothing, and put on jeans and a loose shirt. She concluded that first thing tomorrow, she was going to buy some hair bleach. Being a brunette was nice for a while, but she would always be a blonde at heart. Besides, it was always nice to prove people wrong when they assumed she was a 'dumb blonde'.

Then, Claire remembered that if she had any hope of ever becoming Myrnin's assistant again, she needed to brush back up on her studies. She was a little disappointed that she couldn't enroll back in college, seeing as how it was the middle of a semester, but that didn't mean she couldn't study on her own time. Besides, professors were just there for extra help, it's not like she needed that. So, Claire's shopping list for tomorrow consisted of hair dye, new clothes, and books.

**Okay, so some of you guys want Shane's POV. Well, you're going to get that in the next chapter. Also, you guys will get your Meghan confrontation. I just don't know when. I have to figure out when to fit it in xD I also apologize for making it seem that Shane & Michael don't care for Claire anymore. But, I plan to make you guys realize that they do in the upcoming chapters, so just keep reading & don't loose hope on me :D**

**Oh, & I want you guys to know that even though I don't reply to every review I get, I do read & appreciate every single one of them. My computer is extremely slow; I think it has a virus? & my mom isn't getting it fixed until school starts back. So until then, I can't reply to your reviews. But, if you ask a question or write anything that needs to be addressed, you can expect to get it answered in the next chapter where I write my A/N's.**

**xoxoxtwilightxoxox****: Sure, I'd love to hear your ideas. I'd love to hear everyone's ideas, so if you have any, just let me know.**

**AliceCullen3204****: I've read all of the books, except for Carpe Corpus. I plan to read that as soon as I'm done my summer reading for school. Blah, I'm taking forever on that, though. Haha xD**


	12. Internal Battle

_**Shane POV**_

Shane didn't really know why he was flipping out. He was with Meghan now, so why did it matter if Claire went around town sleeping with random guys? These thoughts filled his head as he walked through Morganville. And Shane also couldn't help but wonder why Claire was being so cryptic? She still hadn't managed to go into detail about where she went for three months, and that was driving Shane insane. He wanted to know where she had went, and why she had changed so much, both mentally and physically. She wasn't the same anymore, and Shane wasn't so sure he could love the new Claire as much as the old.

He banished the thoughts out of his head as he knocked on Meghan's door. He didn't really like the fact that she lived here alone, but she always insisted that she would be fine. This was actually the only time that Shane was glad she lived alone; no roommates to restrict their private life. What the hell was Eve thinking? No sex: that was the worst house rule to ever be created.

As soon as Meghan opened the door, Shane crashed his lips onto hers. Her breath always smelled like mint, while Claire's was more like strawberries. He cut off his thoughts and scolded himself. Why in the hell was he thinking of what Claire's kisses tasted like while he was kissing his current girlfriend? Shane was so lost in his thoughts that he failed to notice that Meghan had shut the door and pulled him against a wall, reaching for his shirt.

On instinct, he grabbed her hands and she looked up at him, shock and lust very evident in her expression. "How about we save that for later? I was thinking that maybe we could watch a movie or something?"

"Shane Collins, are you actually turning down sex? Are you feeling okay?" Meghan was confused, and Shane knew she had a reason to be. He wasn't the kind of person to decline any offers. In fact, the only person he declined before was Claire, but that was only because she wasn't legal. _Damn it, brain! Why do you keep thinking of Claire? Stop bringing her up._

"I'm fine. I just thought that maybe you wanted to wait a while. I mean, I just got here, so we don't have to do it right now, if you don't want to." That wasn't the real reason, was it? No, it wasn't. But Shane didn't really know the exact reason as to why he wasn't in the mood. His emotions were giving him whiplash lately.

"But, I want to, and I want to right _now_." She poked her bottom lip out and Shane knew he had to give her what she wanted. Who could resist that pout? He pushed her back against the wall and began shedding clothing.

*******

Shane sighed as the hot shower water hit his skin. Meghan had insisted on coming in with him, but he claimed that he would only take a minute. Was it bad that Meghan was beginning to annoy him? Any other guy would love a girl like her; beautiful and sex-crazed, but for some reason, that wasn't enough for Shane. He was beginning to think that he was gay, but the thought of kissing another guy was even less appealing than Meghan.

He sighed and decided that he would be returning to the Glass house tonight. He never really realized that Meghan was the wrong kind of girl for him until recently. Claire's arrival didn't have anything to do with that, did it? Of course not, he decided. He would just have talk to Meghan about his feelings later, and try to work things out. Maybe they could find things that they had in common, and do that stuff together to pass time, instead of sex.

Shane shut off the shower and quickly got dressed. He headed downstairs to tell Meghan goodnight, but she was nowhere to be found. That was odd. She was just here no more than five minutes ago. Shane searched everywhere until he found a note on the fridge.

_Oliver called & wanted me to meet him. Don't know when I'll be back, but I'll call you later._

_XoXo- Meg._

He sighed. Shane didn't really like that Meghan was so fond of her boss. He was a dirt bag, but no matter how much he, Eve, or Michael tried to tell Meghan that, she would still insist that Oliver was a great guy. He would probably have to bite her before she realized that he truly was an evil, bloodsucking vampire.

Shane crumpled the letter, and tossed it in the trash, then headed out. In another half hour it would be dark, so he rushed home. Becoming a vampire's dinner was not on his to-do list. As soon as he entered the house, he noticed Claire sitting on the couch. That was when an internal battle began. Should he just go upstairs or sit down and talk to Claire? It only took him a second to decide.

**So, what do you guys think Shane does? :) I hope my Shane's POV was good enough; I tried really hard to make this chapter decent. You also got to know about Meghan a little bit more. So, maybe now you can figure out if you like or dislike her? Well reviews, as always, are welcome.**


	13. Nostalgia

Claire heard the front door shut and she glanced up to see Shane staring at her. She was wondering why he didn't spend the night at Meghan's, but shook the thought from her head, and focused back on the TV. An HBO series called True Blood was playing. Claire was planning on changing the channel, but then she realized it involved vampires, and she was actually getting into it now.

"A vampire movie? That's a little ironic, don't you think?" Shane asked after a moment, still standing by the door.

"Well, it's actually a TV show. But, yeah, I guess it is kinda ironic. Maybe after this goes off I'll tune into some Buffy." Claire smiled and was glad that she was actually carrying a casual conversation with Shane.

"Buffy? Are you even old enough to remember that show?" Shane had crept over closer to the living room, where Claire was, but was still standing. Well, at least that meant they were starting to get somewhere. Maybe eventually they'd be completely comfortable around each other again.

"Hey, that show was what all the fifth graders were talking about back then. Of course, I always had to sneak around with it, though. My parents flipped when they figured out I was watching it." Claire laughed at the memory. She wasn't allowed to watch TV without supervision for at least a month after getting caught. It was annoying to say the least, but her parents finally began to trust her to 'not watch such garbage' anymore, and gave her freedom back. So, Claire didn't watch Buffy anymore…while her parents were home.

"Ah, I remember that all of the seventh grade girls kept talking about how hot Spike was. Even Eve had the hots for the guy."

Claire had to laugh. She couldn't really picture Eve going on and on about how dreamy she thought a guy was, let alone a vampire. "I wish I knew you guys back when I was a kid. You all were probably so different back then, though."

"I should hope so. Seeing a twelve year old gothic girl isn't very common, not even in Morganville. But, Michael, he was basically a smaller version of what he is today. Always wrapped up in music and caring about his friends and family. The only difference is that he didn't have the balls to admit he liked Eve. Man, the way he was, I _never_ thought that they would actually date." Shane took a few steps closer and scratched his head. "Do you mind if I sit?"

Claire nodded and he plopped down next to her, a friendly distance away. Claire smiled and looked into Shane's eyes, and for the first time that she'd been back, he didn't seem to be angry. "So, what about you? What was Shane Collins like as a pre-teen?"

He sighed, "A lot less jaded." He winced a bit, and Claire knew that he was recalling all of the terrible memories of his past, and she regretted asking the question. "Everything was better back then, you know? I didn't worry about death or doubt whether people's intentions were good or bad. The only worry I had was whether or not I'd like what was for dinner."

"Because the world would just come to an end if you had to eat some veggies for once." They chuckled and Claire sighed, processing everything Shane had said. "I don't think we'll ever be happy. As kids we can't wait to grow up, but when we finally do, we just wish we could go back to when nothing mattered. Everything could be perfectly fine, but as humans, we just can't be content. We want more."

"But maybe that's because what we truly want doesn't exist. We all want a perfect life, a perfect family, perfect friends, perfect looks, and we won't be happy until we get that. We don't even realize that there's no such thing as perfect," Shane finished, leaving Claire dumbfounded. Shane was rarely so... insightful. She almost wondered if she was dreaming, because not only was Shane actually talking to her, but he was being calm and thoughtful. They weren't arguing like they had been for the past two days.

"Well, I'm content, right here and right now. I'm glad to be back home and with my friends. Hell, I'm even glad to be back around the vampires, both kind and crazy." Claire paused and could feel her mind urging her to say more, and before she could bite her tongue, it slipped out. "I'm glad to be back here with you." She instantly regretted it, and was about to backtrack, but then she saw Shane's eyes fixed on her.

She didn't really know what took her over, maybe instinct or desire, but she leaned in towards Shane, and smiled inside when she realized that Shane was doing the exact same thing. _Yes! I finally get to do what I haven't done in three months._ Claire's mind began cheering, but then a thought hit her. He was dating Meghan, and even though she didn't necessarily like the girl, she didn't want to be a home wrecker. Well, maybe more of a relationship wrecker than a home wrecker, but still, neither title was good.

Their lips were only a second away from touching, and before Claire had the chance to process right from wrong, a loud moan came from upstairs in Eve's room. Both Shane and Claire jumped away from each other. They were both stunned, obviously, but Shane was the first to speak. "Hey, I thought there was a no sex rule in the house?"

"Oh, you missed it, we vetoed that rule. So, only one house rule now and I think it pretty much only applies to me." Claire could hear that her voice sounded shaky, but she was doing her best to control it. That was very hard to do, though, considering her racing heart.

She would have been embarrassed, but Shane's voice had also taken a different tone, so it was comforting to know that she wasn't alone. "Wow, and I had actually just accepted house rule number two." He paused and looked at Claire, seeming to be debating something in his head. "Claire, are you ever going to tell us what happened? In detail?"

She leaned her head against the back of the couch, shut her eyes, took a deep breath, and exhaled. "Eventually."

They continued watching TV in a comfortable silence the rest of the evening.

*******

Claire woke up the next morning and stretched. After glancing over at her clock, she knew that Eve and Michael were already gone for work, and Shane was still in bed. She also saw her shopping list on her nightstand, so she got up, and decided to take a shower. She rummaged through her suitcases and sighed. _Whoa, I can't believe I've been dressing like such a skank for the past three months._

Finally, she settled on a dark violet V-neck tee and black Bermuda shorts. After browsing through her collection of newly bought shorts, she couldn't believe she had worn some of them in public. One pair seemed to be so short that if she bent over, you could probably even figure out what color her undies were. She shuddered at the thought of some old pervert catching a glimpse of her white granny panties.

After showering and dressing, she headed downstairs, into the kitchen. She was shocked when she saw Shane standing over the oven, making what appeared to be scrambled eggs. Claire made her presence known by chuckling, "Since when do you fix anything besides chili?"

Shane turned around to face her and playfully glared, "I know how to fix other things; I just prefer making chili. It's my specialty. But, sit down and prepare for the best scrambled eggs and sausage that you will ever taste."

Claire obliged and sat down in the chair closest to her. Once Shane set the plate down in front of her, she dug in. She was starving, so hungry that she even finished her eggs before Shane. She reached for the sausage, but froze. _It looks so good, but I'm a vegetarian now…_ Shane noticed her hesitancy, "It's good sausage, I swear. Not like that crappy kind you get at cheap restaurants and have to spend five minutes chewing."

She laughed and bit her lip. The sausage looked so tasty, but she had gone three months without it, and she didn't want to mess that up. She knew that if Cara was still alive, she would kick Claire's ass for even considering eating a poor animal. "The people I stayed with while I was gone were vegetarians, and I guess I picked up their habits after some time."

"Well, now you're living with carnivores again, so dig in. Besides, the pig is dead now, anyways." Shane bit into his sausage, chewing slowly to taunt Claire, but when she glanced at the ground to avoid looking at him, he swallowed and continued, "Look, vegetarianism isn't for everyone, and it's obvious you want the sausage, so eat it."

She bit her lip and hoped that the sausage would stop calling her name, but it didn't. Her mouth was watering and finally, Claire gave in. She tossed the whole sausage into her mouth and savored the flavor that she hadn't tasted in what seemed like eternity. _I'm so sorry Cara, but I'm like a drug addict; I had to have it._ Still, apologizing in her head didn't ease the guilt that Claire felt. She still felt like she was letting her deceased friend down. She shook the thought out of her head and changed the subject, "Thanks for the breakfast, Shane. I'm going to head down to the store now to buy some clothes and other things, so if Eve or Michael comes home before I do, let them know."

"Hey, I can give you a ride if you want. It's pretty hot out there today." Shane stood up and put the dishes in the sink, then looked back over at Claire. It seemed like he really meant his offer, and wasn't just asking because he felt obligated to.

"Um, sure, I'll go get my money while you take a shower." They headed up the stairs, and went their separate ways, Shane into the bathroom and Claire into her bedroom. She creaked open the door and froze at what was sitting on her bed.

**Another cliffhanger! :D I'm sorry, but this story has been relatively cliffy-free, so I figured it couldn't hurt. Plus, I've got writers block, so that's why it ended where it did, haha xD**

**Oh, & I want to thank my good friend Sam for the moment between Claire/Shane. I'm no good at mushy stuff like that, so if you liked it, say thanks Sammie! :D Well, review if you liked this chapter, please.**

**P.S. There will be no cheating in this story. That's a sensitive subject with me, considering I come from a broken home. So, if you were worrying about that, there's no need to :)**


	14. Headed for Redemption

Claire tried to slow her breathing and the pace of her racing heart, knowing full well that the vampire on her bed could hear the irregularity. But, she just couldn't help it. On her bed sat the head vampire, dressed in all white like the ice queen she was, with an unreadable facial expression. If Claire thought that Amelie's fury was frightening, then the blank expression was downright terrifying. "Um, hello, Amelie." She tried to keep her voice calm and collected, but what supposed to be a warm greeting sounded more like a question.

Amelie stared straight into Claire's eyes, and after what seemed like an eternity, finally spoke. "Claire." She was silent again, so Claire took a glance around the room, realizing that no one was with Amelie, not even her usual guards. That meant no one to calm Amelie down if she got too angry. She looked back at Amelie, who had an eyebrow quirked. "You might want to control your breathing before you have a heart attack."

_Well, that means she doesn't want me to die…or maybe she doesn't want me to die from natural causes, because she wants to brutally kill me for betraying her_, Claire had to stop thinking like that, because it wasn't helping her pulse at all. She was wondering how she had managed not to go into cardiac arrest already. "Is there something you needed?" Her voice was still shaky, but a bit better than what it was moments ago.

Amelie stood up, walking over to the window, and turned her back to Claire. After a moment of gazing, she turned back to look at Claire. "You left." It wasn't a question, just a statement, and Claire still was unable to tell if Amelie was pissed. "You left without speaking to me about it, care to explain?"

Damn these people and their curiosity as to where Claire had gone for three months. She still wasn't ready to explain, but this was Amelie, and she didn't have much of a choice. Amelie was probably furious now, and if Claire refused to tell her where she'd been, well there wasn't any doubt that today would probably end with blood shed. And not Amelie's blood, either. So, Claire bit her lip and prepared to re-live the past three months that had been somewhat fun, but also hell. "I got a phone call one day and I found out that my friend wasn't doing so well. She, um, she had cancer…" Her voice broke on the end and she could feel the tears pool in her eyes.

Claire wasn't like Eve. She didn't like breaking down and crying whenever the smallest thing went wrong. Plus, she probably looked pathetic to Amelie. Surely an old, head vampire was used to death by now, but nevertheless, Claire continued. "I left to spend some time with her before she, you know…" She wasn't able to say the 'D' word, so she skipped it. "I was going to ask, but I knew it was rare to get permission to leave Morganville, so I just went without saying anything…"

Amelie's face hardened, obviously not liking the fact that Claire took it upon herself to just leave. But, there were most important matters at hand. "And your bracelet?" She eyed Claire's wrist, where the bracelet once was, but only a scar remained now.

"Once I hit the border, it disintegrated." Claire debated on whether she should tell Amelie about her wound, but decided against it. Amelie would obviously know what would happen to people and their protection bracelet's if they fled without permission.

"But not before it dug and sliced into your flesh?" Claire's mouth dropped. So she _did_ know. "Oh, I know all about it, dear Claire. I knew about it the exact moment you hit the border. So, if we wanted to get technical, you did get permission to leave."

Claire was stunned. If she had gotten permission to leave, then why had her bracelet tried to kill her? And how had she gotten permission when she had never informed anyone that she was planning to leave? But, some things were beginning to make sense. If Claire hadn't gotten permission, she would more than likely be dead right now. There were definitely some pieces of the puzzle missing and she wasn't going to figure them out on her own, so she waited for Amelie to continue.

"The moment you hit Morganville's border, founder's bracelets are programmed to tighten, and become extremely uncomfortable. Usually once the bracelet starts tightening, it frightens people into going back into Morganville, and then the bracelet goes back to normal. But, in your case, you chose to keep going, and the bracelet continued to tighten. Well, once it cut into your wrists, the blood seeped onto the bracelet and alerted me."

Claire could hear a million questions forming in her head, so she asked the one that came first. "But how did you know that it wasn't just a small cut or something? What if I had been home, fallen, gotten a cut and some blood dripped onto the bracelet?"

"I would still have been alerted. Anytime your blood drips onto the bracelet, I'm alerted with your exact location and how much blood had dripped onto it. So, I would know if it was just a paper cut you received at home. Are you also aware that there are cameras at Morganville's borders?"

Claire should have known; these vampires didn't do anything half-ass. Then, another question popped into her head. It was the question that had always been there since the day she left Morganville. "But the bracelet disintegrated. Does it do that once you get so far away from the border?"

Amelie laughed, but not a normal one, it was a cold, creepy laugh. Myrnin's laugh was nothing compared to this. "No. No, it does not. You could be very much dead had I not chosen to free you of my protection. That bracelet would have continued to cut until your hand was severed off if I hadn't stopped my claim over you."

So, Claire _was_ supposed to be dead, and she would have been if Amelie hadn't….Oh God. "So does that mean what I think it means?"

"If you think it means that you no longer belong to me, then yes. You will no longer participate in Myrnin's studies or do any favors for me, while I am not obligated to provide protection for you."

Claire felt her heart pick up pace again. That meant it was hunting season, vampire style. She couldn't let that get to her, though, because she still had more questions. "Why'd you let me go? I thought it was rare for anyone to be allowed to leave Morganville."

Amelie sighed, apparently growing tired of all these questions. "Don't think I let you go completely free and unwatched." Claire froze. She had been watched. She had been watched for the entire three months she was away. By vampires. "I was quite disappointed when I heard of your new habits. Partying and drinking? I thought you were different from the other children your age, but I was obviously wrong."

Claire was a second away from correcting Amelie. She was not a child, but then again, her behavior was far from mature. She supposed she could just blame it on being a typical rebellious teenage stage, but Claire wasn't a typical teenager. Sure, she had rebellious moments, but they were usually only brave acts to save herself or her friends. They were never anything foolish like crashing parties or drinking until she couldn't see straight. All Claire could do was mumble, "I'm sorry."

"Sorry you may be, but it doesn't change anything. I believe the old saying 'you made your own bed and now it is time to lie in it' describes your current situation well. So all I can do now is warn you, don't leave the house at night and watch your back during the day. Farewell, child." Amelie dismissed herself and headed for the door. _Farewell_, there was just something so final about it, and Claire didn't like that.

"Wait!" Amelie froze, but didn't turn to face Claire. "Isn't there anything I can do to fix this? I know I made a mistake, okay, I made _a lot_ of mistakes, but I'll do anything to make everything right. Please, I'm sure you've done some things that you regret; you have to understand."

"You're right, I've made plenty of mistakes, but I learned from them. I'm not so sure you have, and until you do, forgiveness is not an option." Then, Amelie was out of sight.

The tears streamed down Claire's cheeks, finally receiving their release. The world was crashing around her and every mistake she had made was ringing in her head. She had so many regrets, and the biggest one, was accepting that phone call. It had ruined everything. She could still be living happily in Morganville with protection at this very moment with her friends and boyfriend. She wouldn't have had to experience three months of hell watching her friend slowly succumb to death, seeing Cara's eyes gloss over, but refusing to cry because she figured that it did nothing to change the matter of fact she was going to die, anyways.

But that stuff didn't matter anymore. What was done is done. And even though Claire might not be able to take back her mistakes, she could start working towards overcoming them. She wouldn't touch another alcoholic beverage and she'd spend time studying instead of partying. She had to redeem herself. So, she grabbed her money, and headed back downstairs to meet Shane.

**Hmm, so I feel like something is missing in this chapter? I dunno what, though. But, I made it as good as I could. I've re-written it about four times, so I hope this pleases you and answered some of your questions. Yeah, I know there are still a lot I haven't answered, but I will in due time. Review & share your opinions?**


	15. Missing Piece

Shopping with Shane was oddly fun and carefree. Claire definitely needed that after her discussion with Amelie. "Oh look, a pair of red sequined hooker boots," Shane called. Claire almost thought he was making it up, but sure enough, he pointed and there lay a pair of sequined boots on sale for forty dollars. She wasn't even sure she would pay four dollars for them, let alone forty.

"And now we just need to find the matching skirt, buy you a wig, and put you on the street corner." The mental image popped into Claire's head and she started chuckling.

"Like anyone can afford me." Shane rolled his eyes and pretended to brush his hair off his shoulder, which caused Claire to wonder why he was doing this complete one-eighty. Who goes from being extremely pissed and cranky one minute to playful and friendly the next? Shane, apparently.

"Claire!" She heard someone call. She turned around and noticed it was Chase. She did a quick scan around the store to see if he came with anyone, Meghan in particular, but didn't find anyone. Good, because Claire didn't really want Meghan to sweep Shane away and leave her without a shopping buddy.

"Hey Chase, what are you doing here?" She was a bit surprised when Chase wrapped her into a hug, but not wanting to be rude, she hugged him back. After all, he did help her out of that incredibly awkward situation involving Meghan and Shane. A hug was the least she could do.

"I came to buy Monica a housewarming present. She's throwing a huge party tonight, you going?" Ah, Monica Morrell, the girl who hates Claire's guts and has tried to hurt her on many occasions, and succeeding a few times. Yeah, she was definitely not going to that party.

"I think I'm going to pass, but housewarming? Since when did she move?" Claire couldn't really imagine why the Morrell's would move from their fancy mansion. It was, by far, one of the best houses in Morganville.

"Well, they didn't move exactly. Something about Ms. Morrell wanting change, and what the Morrell women want, they get. So, Mr. Morrell paid to have the whole house re-done. I hear it looks completely different, but cost a fortune, so they're having a housewarming party." Claire recalled the one Morrell party she did attend, where she continuously got felt up and saw tons of drunken people. She also remembered how the place got completely trashed and knew that after this party was over, the house was going to need _another_ makeover.

"I, uh, went to one of her things a while back, but parties just aren't my thing." _Anymore_, Claire mentally added.

"Well, that's such a shame. I would have loved to dance with you. Maybe some other time?" Claire wondered if that was a subtle way of flirting, because she knew how people danced at parties. Well, she didn't really even classify it as dancing, more like dry humping. And, there was no way she was dancing with Chase like that. In fact, she doubted she would dance like that with anyone.

_Except Shane_, her mind nagged. _Damn you subconscious mind; Stop bringing him up! We have a platonic relationship, and absolutely nothing more._

"Unless you want your feet stomped on, I don't think you want me as your dance partner," Claire finally answered while laughing nervously. She wasn't really sure if that was the truth or a lie, because she had never really attempted to dance. She always just assumed she sucked at dancing and left it at that.

"You can't be that bad. You seem like one of those people who would have the natural talent, but if not, then I could always teach you." Claire was still unable to tell if Chase was flirting. If anyone else had said it, she would have known right away that she was getting hit on, but Chase made it sound like he was only a friend offering to help a friend. There didn't really seem to be any hidden meaning behind it.

"Oh, that's nice, but I'll save you the trouble." She bit her lip and glanced at Shane. He seemed to have an annoyed look on his face, which seemed odd, because no more than a minute ago they were joking about him being a hooker. Somebody is bipolar…

"Hey, are you going blonde or something?" Chase must have seen the confused look on Claire's face, because he continued. "Oh, I just saw the hair dye box in your hand and was wondering if you were changing you hair color."

Claire gave another nervous chuckle. She wasn't really sure why being around Chase made her uneasy. Maybe it was because she couldn't seem to figure out if he was a good or bad guy. Claire didn't like the fact that there was something she couldn't figure out. He seemed harmless enough, though, but there was just something about him. "Yeah, I guess I just got tired of being a brunette. I'm going back to the natural."

"That's too bad. I loved you as a brunette, but I'm pretty sure you look gorgeous in any hair color." Chase smiled, and it wasn't one of those flirtatious smiles either, it was…genuine. And friendly.

"Well, thanks." She looked at the ground and back up. "Okay, well um, I'm going to go finish shopping and get home so we can get dinner started. I'll see you around." Claire turned to leave, but didn't get very far before Chase called her back.

"Oh wait, Claire, I was wondering if I could get your number. Or maybe give you mine if you wanted to hang out sometime." Claire got that feeling again. It felt like she was missing something, but Chase still appeared to be harmless. After all, if he was really a bad guy, he would have plenty of time to do dirty tricks to her when she spent the night. Right? _Of course, now stop being a baby_, Claire's mind chastised.

"Alright, do you have a pen?" Chase handed Claire a pen and she wrote her number on his arm. It seemed a bit cliché, but there weren't any paper or post-it notes available, so she had to settle for the arm.

When Chase walked away, Shane finally spoke up. "Either something is off with him or he's terrible at flirting."

"So you noticed it to?" Claire sighed. "Maybe it's just his nice guy demeanor, kind of like the guy next door. I mean, that's pretty rare in Morganville, so maybe we just aren't used to it."

"Huh, maybe." Shane still seemed to be in thought, but he snapped out of it and changed the subject. "Well, let's go finish up, so I can start on the chili for tonight. There's a new ingredient I'm going to try. I figured it would be something different."

"Oh, and what ingredient would that be?" Claire quirked an eyebrow. She was fairly curious as to what his new ingredient would be, because Shane had peculiar tastes, and she wanted to know exactly what she was putting in her mouth before she actually swallowed it.

"It's a secret, but you'll find out soon enough. Now hurry your ass up and finish shopping."

Claire left the checkout with six pairs of jeans, twelve tops, a box of hair dye, and some books on alchemy and chemistry. She was well on her way to becoming the old Claire.

**Hmm, so how many of you had your pitchforks in hand waiting for me to update? Haha xD, I apologize for the wait, but I do have to warn you, my posting might not be as regular as it used to be. I know, how crappy of me, but I've got lots of stuff going on right now. I won't abandon the story, though, so no worries.**

**On another note…this story has over a 100 reviews! When I finally had the time to come on FF and saw that, my day was made :D So, yeah, thanks to all the awesome people who took time to review & made my day.**

**P.S. No offense for the whole 'Somebody's bipolar…' remark. I don't mean that in a rude or mean way at all. So, I feel the need to ask, opinions on Chase?**


	16. Guests

Shane was in the kitchen cooking Chili, Michael was sitting in the chair playing guitar, and Eve was watching TV when Claire came downstairs. Eve was the first to look up and a small smile broke out on her face. "Well look at that, we've got our Blondie back."

Michael stopped playing and turned to look at her, "Just when I was actually getting use to the whole brunette thing."

"Not to mention the whole booty shorts and barely there clothes thing, too," Shane walked into the living room wearing a pink apron. When he caught Claire eyeing it, he gave a grunt and launched into an explanation. "I lost a bet and I have to wear some form of pink at all times for the next three days. Trust me; this is definitely not the worst thing I've had to do. But, anyways, the chili's ready."

They all walked into the kitchen and were in the middle of eating when the phone rang. Michael stood and answered it. "Hello?" There was a pause and he turned around to look at Claire. "Uh huh, just a minute." He took the phone away from his ear and held it out, "It's for you, Claire."

She knew it could have been anyone, maybe even her parents calling with a friendly hello, but she couldn't stop the sinking pit in her stomach. Deep down, she _knew_ it wasn't a personal call. She was almost positive by the look on Michael's face. She inhaled deeply before she answered, "Hello?"

"Claire! Man, am I glad that you're safe." She knew that voice. It was Chase, and just as she was about to ask him what the hell he meant, he continued. "I'm at Monica's party and everyone's talking about you. Apparently, some vamps are looking for you. You've gotta go hide."

"Vampires?" She felt a breeze on her bare wrist and instantly remembered her lack of protection. Open season… "Shit, I'm at Michael's though, so I should be safe."

"No way, he's a vamp, and since he owns that house, any vampire can barge right in. You're not safe there." Claire was going into panic mode now, because Chase was absolutely right. Sure, Michael could try and fight off the evil vamps, but Claire would be putting the whole house in danger. She didn't want anyone to get hurt because of her stupidity.

"Ugh, you're right, but where else can I go? I don't have protection anymore, so I can't exactly go out into the streets or anything. Maybe I should just take my chances here." Of course, that meant she would have to convince Michael, Eve, and Shane to leave which was going to be a major challenge.

"No, look, I'm on my way to your house now. Just stay put and I'll call you when we get there. You should be safe at my place." She felt a chill run down her spine and she shivered. She thought it was just her nerves, but then warmth surrounded her. _The house_.

She was too transfixed thinking about what the house was trying to convey that she mumbled out a half-hearted reply and hung up.

When she finally glanced back up, she saw everyone's eyes on her. Eve appeared to be frustrated, "You don't have _protection_?" She screeched the word and Claire knew that she had underestimated Eve's mood. She was livid. Claire dully nodded. "And you didn't _tell_ us? What the hell were thinking, Claire! You're the top priority on the Vampire's Most Wanted list. They're all probably doing some twisted contest to see which one can catch and drain you first!"

She cringed, because Eve was absolutely right. There was a large amount of vampires, as well as humans, that were probably out for blood. She looked over at Michael for some sort of comfort. She could see that he wasn't angry, but wasn't exactly happy, either. He sighed, "Well, what's going on? That guy on the phone seemed pretty freaked out."

"I…there's some vampires searching for me. So, he's coming to pick me up to stay at his place. You know, where vampires aren't welcome unless invited…" She felt that chill again, and even though it was really stupid, Claire became frustrated. She wanted to yell at the house to just come out and tell her what the hell was going on, but she knew nonliving things couldn't talk. She learned that in kindergarten.

"Absolutely not. Keep your ass in this house until there's actual proof you're in danger. Eve is right; there are too many people out to get you. It's going to be hard to tell if it's a trap or not."

"No, look, I trust him." Whoa, where did that come from? Wasn't it just a few hours ago that Claire was noticing that something was off about Chase? But, her silly feelings didn't matter anymore. This was a life or death situation and Chase had done nothing to prove himself untrustworthy, so until he did, Claire was going to accept his help.

When she was about to argue further, Shane cut in, "It's Chase, isn't it?" Claire nodded. His voice was dull, and she was almost positive that he was going to side with Michael. But, lately, Shane's been full of surprises. "She really is safer at his place. Michael, you and I both know that any bloodsucker can barge in here without permission. And he's Meghan's brother. We can trust him."

Michael and Shane exchanged some glances that were obviously a silent conversation. "Fine, but I'm going to go around and see exactly what's going on. You stay here and keep an eye on her." Shane nodded, and Michael turned to leave.

Eve caught up to him, "Hey, wait, I'm coming too." Michael opened his mouth to argue, but Eve caught him off. "Look, don't give me your bullshit. I want to know exactly what's going on. So I'm going, whether you like it or not."

He groaned, reluctantly giving in, because there was no way that even a vampire could stop Eve. They left and the house was filled with a deafening silence. She felt that chill again. "Do you feel that?"

Shane's eyes shot to her. "I thought it was just me." He seemed to be thinking, so Claire got lost in her own thoughts. When she began replaying the phone conversation in her head, she remembered the last words Chase spoke, and she gasped. _I'll call you when we get there_.

He wasn't alone.

"Shane, we've got to…" She was cut off by a knock at the door. "Leave," she finished in a whisper. Suddenly, the door was swung open and they were greeted by the sight of Chase and Meghan. That should have eased Claire's mind, because they were both harmless, but the chill returned full force and there seemed to be an odd glint in their eyes.

Something was off, and when Chase stepped over the threshold of the door, everything clicked into place. Her mouth dropped open and Chase smirked at that. "What's wrong, Claire? Did something bite you?"

*******

**Gah, I know this also seems very far-fetched, but you'll get a further explanation in the next chapter. I promise everything will make perfect sense and be very believable.**

**As for the whole Dean thing, I realize I did make Chase seem like him, but that wasn't intentional. I had Chase's fate/character planned out before I even read Carpe Corpus. But, I must say, that was a great book! :D I loved it and I wished I could have read it sooner. Darn busy schedule… Oh well, I won't be bitter. **

**So, tell me what you think? Are you shocked, did you expect this, do you want to chase after me with sporks? Haha, xD Review please?**


	17. Pitiful Pawn

**Warning:**** So I've been told that this chapter is a bit more...crude than the others? It's got some language, and I even think there's one or two F-bombs below. I apologize, but this story has been relatively free of language, so it shouldn't offend anyone too much...**

_Something was off, and when Chase stepped over the threshold of the door, everything clicked into place. Her mouth dropped open and Chase smirked at that. "What's wrong, Claire? Did something bite you?" _

No, there was no way this could be happening. She felt the house grow impossibly chillier and goosebumps began forming on her arms, part from the freezing temperature and part from fear. When Claire glanced over at Shane, she saw his mouth gapped open, obviously just as shocked as she was. Meghan seemed to enjoy this, because she smirked and let out a dark laugh. "Oh will you look at that, you think we should explain ourselves? Or maybe just end their misery and kill them now?"

Claire's heart sped up, which only caused Meghan to chuckle more. Chase slowly stepped towards Claire, almost too slowly, and she didn't know what to make of that. Was he giving her a chance to run, so he could chase after her and cause her pain for attempting to escape? Was he trying to make Claire's heart beat faster for his own personal enjoyment? Was he waiting to attack once an evil plan formed in his head? By the time Claire finally managed to quiet her internal thoughts, Chase was standing in front of her. He lifted his hand and gently stroked her cheek. She wanted nothing more than to cringe away, but she knew that wasn't a smart to do. Claire didn't want to die any sooner than necessary.

"You know, I really did like you. The night I took you home, I had absolutely no idea who you were. It wasn't until the next day that I put everything together and realized that you were _that_ Claire; the incredibly smart sixteen year old who managed to piss off too many vampires, but form a strong bond with the head vampire, only to fuck it up by leaving Morganville. Honestly, I didn't _want_ to kill you, but it was either murder some silly girl who knows too much and in turn become immortal or let you live and get killed for not following orders. The second option is basically suicide, wouldn't you agree?" Chase smiled and his lethal teeth glistened in the light.

"And what about her?" Claire gestured towards Meghan with her head, but kept her eyes locked with Chase. She didn't even turn her head when Meghan began explaining herself.

"Honestly it wasn't that hard to convince me. I've always had a dislike for snobby little teenage girls and would you believe how good vampires are in the sack?" Meghan looked over at Shane and a cold smile covered her face. "How does it feel to know that just an hour before you took me against the wall, I was with Oliver?" Shane looked like he was going to be sick, but she continued. "Oh please, didn't it ever cross your mind as to why I spent so much time at the coffee shop? I mean Jesus, I even worked there on your birthday; I could have taken off if I wanted to."

Chase chuckled, "I guess I should be thankful my sister is such an easy lay." He smirked over at Meghan, who glared at him in return. "Otherwise, we would have never been offered a deal and we would have been fragile human beings for the rest of our short lives. Now we get to live for eternity as terrifying, strong and incredibly fast immortals. All we have to do is kill someone who should be dead, anyway."

The gears were turning in Claire's head and she was incredibly close to calling the siblings out on their lies. There was no way Oliver could have turned them into vampires. He had tried it before on Michael, but wasn't strong enough because of the vampire disease. Before she vocalized her convictions, she decided to question them first, "And why exactly would Oliver want me killed?" Sure, Claire had pissed him off with the whole book thing, but she thought that was water under the bridge.

"Oh come on, use some of that intelligence of yours." Meghan rolled her eyes and sighed when Claire kept silent. "Christ, I'm not really sure I can see what everyone is talking about. You sure are one dumb broad. It's obvious that you're a threat, and not only to Oliver, but a bunch of others, too. Everyone knows that Amelie views you in a different light than other humans, but for her not to have killed you for leaving Morganville, that's something significant there. Oliver isn't really sure how you fit into the puzzle, but it's obvious you're important for some sort of plan she wants to put into action, and Oliver can't have Amelie being ahead of him, now can he?"

Claire shut her eyes as her brain went into overdrive. It made sense now. Everything was a game to these vampires, always trying to be one step ahead of their opponent by using innocent people to their advantage. It was a never ending game of chess and the death of Claire would be a checkmate for Oliver. But, if Amelie didn't want Claire killed, why was her protection taken away? But, as soon as the thought entered Claire's mind, she knew the answer. Amelie was already putting emphasis on her need for Claire by allowing her to live after leaving, but if she allowed Claire to keep her protection as well as life, it would have been a definite red flag. Sure, Amelie was taking a risk by revoking Claire's protection, but she was willing to gamble, because after all, it wasn't _her_ life she was putting on the line. Amelie was probably banking on the fact that Claire wouldn't go out in the dark. Amelie probably never really considered the option of someone coming into the Glass house.

Oh, how wrong Amelie had been. But, as odd as it sounded, Claire didn't mind dying. After all, she technically deserved it because fleeing Morganville was a death warrant itself. No, what bothered Claire the most was that Shane was going to die now too, because he happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. It was drastically unfair, but she supposed that things in Morganville never played out fairly, anyway. Still, it didn't matter, she had to attempt to get Shane out of this mess. Even if she died trying. "Look, you can do whatever you want with me. Drain me, torture me, beat me, anything; just let Shane go and I promise I won't resist anything."

Meghan flashed an eery smile and Claire had to fight the instinct to flinch away. Really, in all the months that Shane had been dating her, she found it hard to believe that no one recognized how terrifying Meghan could be. She spoke in a mocking, sweet tone, "What's the matter Claire, you can handle any logic or principles that a textbook throws at you, but you can't handle the concept of death? That's why you came back to Morganville, right? Because your friend died and you couldn't accept the fact that you did absolutely nothing to save her? All you did was go to party after party, get drunk, screw anything with legs, and cause further deterioration of her health. And now, you don't want your little boyfriend to die, because you can't handle any more guilt on your conscience." She gave a cold laugh, "I really don't understand why Amelie holds such a weak thing so dear."

Everything became blurry. All of this time Claire had never known why she felt the way she did, and her mind just said it was because she had never had someone close to her die before, but it was deeper than that. Her subconscious was guilty. Now that Meghan had finally put a name to the feelings, Claire knew she was exactly right. She _didn't_ do anything to help Cara. She could have encouraged Cara to excercize, eat right and do chemotherapy, but instead she supported the bad habit of partying. She almost didn't hear Shane speak up, and it shocked her because he had been silent during this whole affair, "So you're saying that Oliver turned you into bloodsuckers as a trade off for killing us? That's bullshit. He's tried it before and it didn't work out. Look, we're not going to make it out of this alive, so you might as well tell us the truth. It's not like we're going to be able to rat you out to anybody."

Claire yelped when she felt Chase yank her arm, pulling her towards him enough so that he could wrap his arms around her stomach, with her back was towards his chest. Shane obviously didn't like what he saw, because he started forwards, but Meghan lunged at him and backed him against a wall. "Fine then, don't believe us, but everything you heard is the truth." Chase brought his head down and whispered into Claire's ear, his teeth scarping the outer shell of her ear, "Just play along." Claire was flabbergasted and she had no clue what to do. Play along? What did _that_ mean? Claire didn't have long to contemplate it, because Chase continued, "The plans have changed, sis, ditch the boy; we're only taking the girl."

Meghan gaped at her brother and screeched, "Excuse me? Have you lost your damn mind? Leave Shane, who's heard our entire plan and motive, _here_? Are you insanse? You know he'll snitch on us to save the one he _loves_." She spat the word while making a disgusted face.

"Let him call anyone he wants. We've done anything wrong. Claire is free of protection, meaning she's basically free food for us. Besides, our direct orders were to take Claire and Claire only. You wouldn't want to piss off your new vampire boyfriend by disobeying him, would you?" The idea of Meghan and Oliver made Claire cringe. She could only imagine how Shane felt.

"But Shane doesn't have protection either, and I'm feeling rather hungry..." Meghan pressed her tongue to the base of Shane's neck, and ran it up to his ear, where she then took his earlobe between her lips and sucked. Or maybe she was biting, Claire couldn't really tell from where she was standing. "Besides, what vampire would miss a Collin's boy?" Claire watched in horror as Meghan opened her mouth, her razor-sharp teeth glimmering in the light, and poised herself at Shane's jugular. _No, she's going to bite him! Do something!_ She wasn't sure whether she was telling herself, Chase, or some magical force to do something. All she knew was that _something_ had to be done, but before she could form a plan, Chase released Claire and slammed into Meghan, pinning her against a wall.

"I said leave him be," Chase spoke with deadly control. Never had Claire heard him speak like that, and in that moment, she realized she had misjudged the situation. Out of the siblings, Chase was the one to be feared the most, because if he could slam into his own sister that hard, then she didn't want to imagine what he would do to someone who pissed him off.

Meghan shoved against him, but he wasn't relenting. She opened her mouth to say something, but her gaze wondered over to Claire, and her eyes turned to fire. "You idiot! You left the girl unrestrained!" Before Claire could even blink, she was the one who was now pinned against a wall. Her face contorted as she felt a stinging sensation on her spine from the impact. Chase's eyes softened, and in that moment, Claire finally decided to trust him. Besides, what was there to loose? If she didn't trust him, she would surely die, so she might as well try the option where there was at least a ten percent chance she'll make it out of this alive. His gaze hardened again and he looked over his shoulder at his sister. "Let's go and leave him," he spoke through clenched teeth.

Chase grabbed Claire by the wrist firmly, but not painfully, and lead her outside where Chase's very human car was parked. They must have been changed very recently if they hadn't even given him a vamp mobile, yet. It was funny that even on her own deathbed she found the need to soak up as much information and knowledge as possible, so she questioned in a voice barely above a whisper, "When were you changed?"

Meghan ignored her, clearly sulking in the front seat. It was very obvious that daughter dearest was a spoiled wench who wasn't use to being told she couldn't do something. Chase sighed, "Today at sunset."

He didn't seem so enthused about being a vampire now. Maybe he _was_ a good guy, but only time would tell. All Claire could do for now was sit in the back seat and hope she didn't have an anxiety attack before she got some much needed answers.

**Yay! So I'm back in business :) I hate that my computer decided to stop working after I left you with a cliffhanger, but I guess that's just the way my luck works. I also hate that it decided to crash **_**after**_** I had already wrote this chapter. And since I hate re-writing things exactly the same, since it's so dull, I changed this chapter up a bit. I hope you like the new & possibly improved version. Hmm, I used the word 'hate' a lot. But do you guys know what I don't hate? Reviews :) Oh, & cookies too... Haha.**

**Oh, on a side-note, you have Paramore to thank for this post. I wasn't really in the mood to write today, but I bought their latest CD 'Brand New Eyes', and listened to it. It made me happy again :)**


	18. Showdown

It was pitch black outside now, forbidding Claire from getting a decent look at her surroundings. The whole ride had been entirely too quiet and her emotions were really starting to take their toll. Apprehension, fear, curiosity and guilt rained down on her mind.

_Guilt_; that was by far the worst emotion she was experiencing. The long ride had done nothing but give her all the more time to replay Meghan's speech in her mind, forever on repeat. Claire tried her hardest to point out a flaw or untrue point, but to no avail. Meghan, of all people, had pegged her feelings exactly right. Maybe if someone more compassionate, like Michael or Eve had pointed it out instead, she wouldn't feel _as_ horrible, but no, a heartless vampire had to explain to Claire she had wronged her friend. _Yeah, well, what does she know about wronging people? She cheated on Shane_, Claire's mind attempted to argue.

But, her line of thought brought her even more guilt. She almost had Shane killed. That fact brought another pang to Claire's heart, and while she could feel her eyes burning with unshed tears, she bit her lip to prevent them from falling. Sure, she now could accept the fact that crying was normal way to deal with grief, but there were ruthless vampires in the front seat, and they'd be able to smell her tears. She didn't even want to think about what Meghan would due to someone in their moment of weakness. So, for now, biting her lip was the solution. As long as she didn't draw blood.

The car slowed to a halt and Claire's heart divided. Half sped up for fear that this was the end, while the other half slowed at the possibility that this was where everything could be fixed and go back to normal. Her car door opened, and Chase grabbed her elbow, lightly tugging her along. Meghan lead the way, her expensive heels clicking against the pavement as she stalked up to the door of an abandoned warehouse. There were entirely too many of these in Morganville and Claire knew that the after dark activities in them were completely sinister.

She hesitated at the entrance and Chase puffed an annoyed sighed, giving her a shove inside. Claire lost her footing and almost let out a surprised squeal, but stopped herself. There was no need to alert anyone of their arrival.

But, never having her way, someone flicked on a switch. Within seconds, obnoxious bright fluorescent lights beamed on, a stark contrast from the darkness she had been exposed to during the drive here. Even though it was the last thing she wanted to do, Claire slammed her eyes shut and waited for them to adjust. When she felt a presence behind her, her eyes popped open, and she whirled around. But to her dismay, nothing was there, not even the blood sucking siblings. She was absolutely alone.

Or so she thought.

That's when she heard struggling from the back, left corner of the room; the only part of the room that was still veiled in darkness. Now, she could have walked over to investigate, but that was what the idiotic bimbos always did in the horror movies before they got their throats slashed. So, she settled for calling out, which wasn't exactly smart either, but better than the other option. "H-hello?" Her voice echoed throughout the building and the struggling seemed to grow. "Anyone there?"

"Hemphf," a muffled cry answered. Claire slowly started towards the voice, her speed increasing as she got closer. When she finally reached the corner, she gasped at the sight before her.

In the moonlight's shadow, bound and gagged, was a very distressed and clearly beaten Mr. Howard. Claire instantly reached for the tape tied around his head and mouth, but froze as the final light overhead flickered on, lighting up the previously dim corner. At the sound of clapping from behind her, she spun around to find Oliver, with Chase and Meghan not far behind. The urge to run away was causing growing exponentially and causing her to quiver in place, but she couldn't leave Mr. Howard in this situation, so she grabbed the tape and yanked it off. That probably hurt like hell, she knew, but it would hurt far less than anything Oliver and his goonies would do.

Claire was just about to untie the rope around Mr. Howard's hands and feet when Oliver called out to them, "Don't bother wasting your time and effort."

Claire didn't want to look up, she really didn't. She didn't want to see how close the menacing vampires were to them and she surely didn't want to see their expressions, or their eery gleam in their lifeless eyes and glimmer on their deadly teeth. She didn't want to see the people, who undoubtedly, were going to be the end of her days. But, against her better judgement, she looked up.

And her heart stopped dead in it's tracks.

They were less than a few feet away and the trio had Mr. Howard and herself cornered. Any previous thought of them escaping unharmed was quickly thrown out the window. _Window_.

Claire peered through her peripheral vision and followed the ray of moonlight leading to a small window. She cast a side glance at Mr. Howard and judged his frame. Someone like Shane or Michael would never be able to make it through that window, but Mr. Howard was a small man weighing no more than one hundred and twenty-five pounds. He could just barely make it. He'd probably get some cuts and bruises in the process of squeezing out, but at least he'd be alive. Now, Claire just needed a way to convey her plan to Mr. Howard and distract all three of the vampires to give him time for an escape. That was definitely a challenge.

"Well now, everyone's here, so where shall we began?" Oliver's calm put Claire into a panic. It was almost like he was talking about a party, but Claire supposed that actually was what her death would be to him. A celebratory act of the fact that the too-smart-for-her-own-good teenage girl is dead and won't meddle in powerful vampire business anymore.

"I understand why I'm here, but why him?" She gestured towards Mr. Howard, unsure of why she just didn't say his name, because she knew Oliver probably already knew it anyway. She supposed she was just holding onto a small flicker of hope that maybe Mr. Howard's name _was_ unknown and he could get out of this mess anonymously without being dragged back into it.

That hope was crushed. "Oh, you're referring to Mr. Howard?" A smirk formed on Oliver's face, informing Claire that he did, in fact, know Cara's father's name and her plan of anonymity was spoiled. "Claire, you really aren't well acquainted with Morganville's rules, are you? I suppose you wouldn't need to be, since your the founder's pet, but rule number one: No leaving Morganville. Rule number two: No assisting anyone in leaving Morganville. Noncompliance with said rules will result in immediate death." He paused for a moment. "Well, I suppose this isn't exactly immediate, but the amount of suffering you'll go through will make up for that."

There it was, written in stone, straight out of the murderer's mouth. Claire wasn't going to make it out of this alive, and as much as she didn't want to admit it, neither was Mr. Howard. Oh, and it was going to be painful. A quick death was bad enough, but no, she was going to be in pain for who knows how long. They would probably drag this out for as long as possible by beating and starving her for a week, and on the day she would finally die from dehydration and rest in peace, she would be forced to drink a small amount water so she could live through another week of torture. This would be repeated for months.

Wait, drag it out? _Yes! _ Her mind shouted in victory. Not at the prospect of being in pain for days, but at the knowledge that someone would have to find her sooner or later. If she could piss off Oliver enough, he'd make it his goal to cause her the worst pain possible. He'd spend all of his energy in teaching her a lesson. He'd completely forget about Mr. Howard and put all of his efforts into making Claire miserable. She would suffer a little, Claire knew that, but someone would come to her and Cara's father's rescue eventually. _Oh, yeah? And if they don't? You're going to spend the end of your days in absolute hell_, her mind sneered.

Well, that was a risk she was willing to take. So, time to commence operation piss off the evil vampires. "So, what exactly is the big scary vampire going to do?" Her heart was racing, but that was okay. Vampires loved to hear fear, it egged them on.

She saw Chase's eyes widen slightly and it seemed liked he was shaking his head. Meaghan's scowl deepened and Oliver just smiled. He definitely sensed himself getting pleasure out of this. Sick Bastard.

"Oh, but it's much more fun when it's a surprise. You won't know what to expect, and you can't prepare yourself, so you'll scream that much louder." Meaghan beamed at Oliver's words. It was no wonder they got along so well; they were both such sadistic beings.

"Oh, so you like screaming? Can you make your whore of a girlfriend scream for you or do you lack the talent?" Meaghan snarled and went to lurch forward, but Oliver restrained her. _Oh that was so close..._ Claire's mind berated her. She couldn't bring Meaghan into this, because she had a temper, and slow torture wasn't her forte. She would kill Claire in the blink of an eye without a thought of dragging it out.

"Such a quiet little kitten you used to be, but you've got quite the mouth on you now, don't you?"

"Most teenagers nowadays do, but a geezer like you wouldn't know that." Did vampires take offense if you insulted their age? Claire didn't think so, but the comment just slipped out. It's a bit hard to control yourself when your brain is in a frenzy and your heart is beating into your throat, making it feel like you need to vomit.

"Geezer, eh? I'm actually quite fond of my age. Back in my era they had the best methods of torture, things you wouldn't even imagine." Oh, well, that age comment just came back to bite Claire in the ass, didn't it? She wondered if throwing up on Oliver's shoes would make him angry, because this insult method wasn't working.

"You don't scare me. I mean, really, how could you? Why would I take a vampire posed as a hippie seriously?"

"Your heart rate begs to differ."

_Think, Claire, think!_ She found herself wishing that Oliver was a superficial teenage girl. She could have him on the ground weeping simply by telling him he needed to loose weight and wax his unibrow. But, no, he was indestructible. No, that's not true. Everyone has some type of weakness. Their own personal kryptonite. So, what makes Oliver's blood boil? Claire thought for a moment before her eyes widened with revelation.

"You know who makes my pulse positively racing? Amelie." Oliver's smirk fell off of his face and he glared at Claire. "Yeah, that's right, she's twenty times more frightening than you are. I completely understand why she's the head vampire and you're not." She heard snarling, but continued on as though she didn't hear the warning. "How does it feel to know that you'll forever be second best? That no matter how hard you try, how many of Amelie's assistants you kill, or how frightening you _think_ you are, no one will ever respect you."

Before she had time to take a breath from her speech, she was slammed into a brick wall, for the second time that evening. Claire couldn't help the scream she let out, because well, that was definitely going to leave one gigantic bruise in the morning...that is if she lived until morning.

She was gasping for breath while trying to squirm in an effort to lessen the stinging and burning in her back, but Oliver had her locked in position. Claire could see just how livid he was from the gleam in his eyes. "You listen here." He shook her shoulders, causing Claire's head to smash into the wall again, and successfully knock out the infinitesimal breath of air she had managed to gather. "I am the superior, and soon enough, everyone's going to realize that. Amelie will be knocked off her thrown and the best man will have rule over Morganville, the way it should have been centuries ago."

Claire wanted to say something, anything to put Oliver in his place, but she was completely out of breath. Everything on her body hurt and her head was spinning, which wasn't helping the nausea she felt earlier by any means. She supposed it wasn't exactly necessary she reply to Oliver anyway, because her work was already done. She was most definitely going to suffer as much as humanly possible for her Amelie comment.

Claire was growing weary and felt like she would faint at any moment, and just as her eyes closed from heaviness, the sound of growling forced her back into reality. Oliver, open-mouthed, was leaning towards her. _No!_ Her mind cried. This wasn't supposed to happen this way. He couldn't kill her now, because there was no way anyone would come to her aid her this quick. She had to drag this out at least for a few more hours, so even though she didn't have barely any energy left, Claire spat in Oliver's face and began taunting again, "What's the matter? Did I strike a sore subject?"

"More like a broken bone," he grounded out through clenched. Then, a searing pain surrounded her arm as Oliver yanked it in an unnatural direction. Claire didn't have a doubt that her arm was broken. A single tear slid down her cheek as she prayed that help would come sooner rather than later. "So, Ms. Danvers, is there anything else you feel the need to state your opinion on, because there are 299 more bones that I can provide a counterargument with."

"Wrong, you only have 205 bones left. As infants, we start off with about 300 bones, but as we age certain bones grow together, therefore leaving the average adult with 206 bones in their body. Since you already broke one, you've only got 205 left to choose from." Claire didn't really know why she explained this. She supposed intelligence and wit were her defense mechanisms, and right now, she certainly needed defense.

Oliver twisted her already broken bone and caused the most intense agony Claire had felt in her life. She wanted to faint, because even though she knew being unconscious around vampires was dangerous, escaping from this torture was worth the risk. When she felt Oliver reach down to her ankle, she knew he was planning on breaking that bone, and she couldn't have that. Having a broken arm and leg would spoil any attempts at running away, so she did the first thing her instinct told her to do, she kicked him where it hurt with a monstrous amount of force. She remembered reading about how when your body is in danger, it emits a large amount of adrenaline, allowing you to do ordinarily impossible things. She inferred that her body had done just that, and though she was skeptical of this theory at first, she now had proof it was true. _Ha! If he wasn't already dead, he'd never be able to have children._

He dropped Claire completely, shielding and comforting his beloved man jewels, while she she crashed to the ground with another surge of pain. What made matters worse was that she had landed on her broken and twisted arm, while also feeling an intense burning sensation in her foot, like she had kicked marble. _Great, Oliver didn't even need to break my foot, I did it for him,_ she thought pessimistically. Before having the chance to roll over, she was thrown up against the wall again, this time with a firm grasp around her neck, holding her so her feet weren't touching the ground. She looked into the cold eyes of Meghan who tightened her choke hold once Claire finally met her eyes. "You little bitch, I've had just about enough of you. This ends now."

Claire supposed the adrenaline thing didn't work twice. As Meghan started squeezing the life out of her, Claire limply kicked and moved around, but it was useless. Her head fell to the side as her eyes grew heavy. She almost gave into the desire to close her eyes and quit, but a figure cowered in the corner stared at her with a horrified expression and open mouth. She knew that expression; Mr. Howard was speechless, shocked, confused and terrified.

And that broke Claire's already broken heart.

She couldn't believe that she had put her deceased best friend's father, someone who had been like a second father to her these past few months, in a position like this. If Claire just gave up and let them succeed in killing her, they'd move on to the next victim, which was Mr. Howard. She wasn't having that. The fire that had previously been flickering out returned with an intensity like someone had drenched it in gasoline. Claire channeled everything; the guilt that consumed her for putting a loved one in danger, the pain she earned for leaving Morganville, the heartbreak she felt knowing that Shane didn't love her anymore, the failure pinned on her by causing a friend's death, the fear that gathered inside of her at this very moment, and the determination that she wasn't going to let these twisted bastards win. Her whirlwind of emotions transformed into one: fury.

Using this newfound gust of strength, she lifted her fist and brought in contact with Meghan's face. Of course, the actual punch of a human didn't do any real damage, but the fact that Claire was wearing a silver ring _did_, especially since Meghan wasn't even a day old vampire. She had absolutely no immunity whatsoever and she screeched out in pure misery.

Claire found herself dropped on the ground, once again on her injured limb, and the pain was too much this time. Her resolve, determination, fury, and hope were all crumbling. The only thing she felt was absolute fear and pain. She couldn't take this anymore. Claire crumbled into a ball and waited for the next strike not come.

But it never did.

She heard the main door smash into the wall as it was swung open and she had no idea what was happening, but as the seconds went by and no one attacked her again, she figured someone had finally come come to her rescue.

Then, against her will, Claire eyes began to drift shut...

**So, first off, I would like to apologize for any grammar or spelling errors. My microsoft word isn't working, so I don't have my beloved spell check :( I went over this a few times, trying to find all of my mistakes, but I'm sure I missed some. So, I apologize for that.**

**Anywho, it's snowing where I live! That's pretty freaking fantastic considering that it hardly ever snows here and we've got a foot of snow! 3 That was my inspiration for this chapter, actually, and judging upon the length of this section, you can tell just how excited I am. The only bad part was trying to make this into a dark, dramatic chapter when I completely joyful. I hope you guys aren't disappointed, because I really tried.**

**On another note, in case I don't post another chapter before Christmas, Happy Holidays to everyone :) I'll try and post another chapter within a week or so, but we all know I'm a bit bad at consistency.**

**Oh, and on my final note, I should tell you guys this story has around five chapters left. It's not exact, because I haven't wrote them yet, but I do know how I'm going to end this story. I think you'll be happy ;)**


	19. A Rock & A Hard Place

Claire groaned as the blackness began fading away and she discovered that she was still in this dreaded warehouse, the grunts in the background clearly indicating that fighting was still going on. There was a significant majority of her pleading to doze off again, reasoning that she had only been out for a few minutes, and a couple more wouldn't hurt. So, she shut her eyes and planned to succumb to darkness. A frantic whisper, however, called to her just moments before she gave in.

"Claire, sweetheart, you've got to stay awake." Mr. Howard had rushed towards her, out of his previously terrified state, and was now gently shaking her back into reality. _No, I like the darkness better. It's so peaceful_, she thought bitterly. "I know, but you can't pass out on me now. We'll get you out of here soon enough." If Claire wasn't completely drained, she probably would have blushed at the fact she had spoken her thoughts out loud, but that took way too much energy. Energy Claire most certainly didn't have. Energy that, if Claire did have, she needed to be using in order to get Mr. Howard back to safety.

She instantly popped up with that thought, causing Mr. Howard to stumble back a bit, and glanced over at the window she discovered earlier. As quickly as she could muster, she stood up, but screeched when she felt a horrendous pain shoot through her leg. Instinct made her glance down, Mr. Howard following her gaze, and her stomach churned at the sight before her. _Her bone_. Her own _bone_ was jutting out of her flesh with blood gushing out profusely in the most daunting manner. She frantically looked away, gulping, and then shook her head to clear her thoughts. Mr. Howard was the exact definition of a deer in the headlights at that moment, having been too stunned earlier to pay any attention to what was happening, and now having reality slap him in the face. "To the window, you've got to hurry!" Claire cried out, hobbling on her way, while Mr. Howard simply stood frozen. Claire exhaled angrily. Now was not the time to be having a panic attack. "Move your ass, _now_!" She used her best frustrated teacher's voice located deep within.

She internally smirked when Mr. Howard rushed towards her. _And they say swearing never gets you anywhere_. Claire focused back on the task at hand, attempting to open the window, but discovered it was either jammer or glued shut. There was only one thing left to do, and Claire knew she was tempting faith, because she was already bleeding enough to attract blood-thirsty vampires, but was about to add to the lure even more. She sighed, and in efforts to lessen the blow, pulled off her shirt before wrapping it tightly around her hand. Mr. Howard was still completely dazed, but she figured that was for the best. She didn't need any attempts to stop her, because she honestly didn't really want to do this, anyway.

Imagining that the window was Oliver's face, she took a fierce swing at it, wincing as she felt glass shards cut into her skin. She continued to use her fist to clear the window of the remaining bits of glass, which earned her even more cuts, gashes, and scrapes. _So much for lessening the blow. Would it have even made a difference if I had used the shirt?_ She pondered, _Maybe if the fabric wasn't so damn thin. _

Mr. Howard chose that moment to snap out of his comatose state, glancing back and forth from the window to Claire with wide eyes, like he was trying to piece together what happened. "What did you _do_?" He asked incredulously.

"Something I'll regret in the morning if you don't get out of here before they kill you." Mr. Howard opened his mouth to protest, but Claire cut him off. "No, you have to go now, run as fast as you can and get help. Don't look back."

"There's absolutely no way I'm leaving you here alone. I'll carry you and we'll go get help together."

She let out a frustrated groan, "I can't. You don't understand, but they're incredibly fast, and you carrying me would slow us down big time. We wouldn't even make it twenty feet. Please, you have to go now. Go to the police and ask for Richard Morrell." He still didn't look convinced, and though Claire didn't want to do it, she went for a low blow, "Mrs. Howard already lost her daughter. Are you going to make her loose her husband, too?"

The tears pooled in his eyes, making Claire feel like a wretched and heartless soul, but that was okay, because along with the tears, his eyes also held a newfound sense of determination. "You know that I hate leaving you here, but I'll be back as soon as possible. If those freaks try to touch you, give them hell. I know you've got it in you, Claire. Just promise you'll fight and stay awake, and that you'll be here when I get back."

She couldn't promise him that, so she meekly smiled and nodded.

Mr. Howard started through the window, grunting and groaning as he more than likely earned some of his own cuts and scars from the glass she had failed to clear out. It was such a tight fit, and Claire began second guessing herself, highly doubting that he would be able to get completely out. When Mr. Howard began wiggling, still not getting anywhere, she knew what she had to do. "Mr. Howard, I know this is going to hurt, and you need to know that I'm completely sorry for what I'm about to do." She turned, her back now facing him, and slammed into him with all her might. He cried out, as did she from the rough force on her spine, but when Claire turned back around, she knew the pain wasn't for nothing. Mr. Howard was outside now, free from this insanity, and able to get help.

"I'm coming back, Claire, I swear." She merely nodded, but that was enough for Mr. Howard to relent, sprinting off in search of help. When he was out of sight, Claire collapsed against the wall, gasping in pain. Her hand needed stitches, her leg was completely shattered, her back was going to be infinitely sore in the morning, and she had massive blood loss going on. _Stay awake, stay awake, stay awake_, she internally chanted. In attempts to not focus on fainting, she finally turned her attention on the fight that had been occurring the entire time in the background.

No way.

There was no way Claire was seeing what she thought she was seeing.

But it _was_. Chase and Michael were up against Oliver, alternating in giving blows, but not without receiving some, either. Although Claire was curious as to why Chase had turned on Oliver, that wasn't what had shocked her. What had completely left Claire flabbergasted was seeing Meaghan bound in silver chain, shoved off in the corner, and Shane standing over her with a stake in one hand and a bottle of what appeared to be holy water in the other. Before she could stop herself, she cried out, "Shane!"

His head snapped up and he rushed towards her, but not without a slight limp. When he got close enough, he caught sight of her leg, and his face paled. "Claire, what the hell happened to you? Oh Jesus, your leg."

She shook her head, barely mumbling out, "I had to distract him. I had to stretch it out. I had to..." She wasn't even sure if she was coherent, but it didn't matter, because Shane was sitting beside her now, wrapping his arms around her. She was so content that she ignored the impulse to wince at the pressure on her back, and instead let her eyes drift shut. She was safe now.

*******

"...guards followed his trail all the way to the border, but he's completely vanished. I can assure you, though, that Oliver will indeed be back. Not anytime soon, since he knows we'll be searching high and low for the time being, but he's not going to vanish forever." Claire kept her eyes shut, fearing what she would see if she woke up, but she recognized that voice. As she tried to place it, there was only one person it could belong to, and she prayed it wasn't her. She knew it was foolish of her, but she was still furious that Amelie would gamble with her life, using Claire as a pawn in her eternal chess game with Oliver. _Who won this round?_ She thought bitterly, _Oliver because he managed to demolish my leg or you because I'm still miraculously alive_?

"Well that's just fucking dandy!" If she wasn't feigning sleep, Claire would have smiled. The one voice she wanted to hear: _Shane_. "So what happens when he comes back and tries to finish the job? Are you and your vampire goons going to do a damn thing?"

"You will not address me in such a rude manner."

"And _you_ won't tell me what to do in my own house, lady. Now, answer my damn question or get out."

Claire could only imagine the icy glare Shane was receiving at this very moment. She was shocked to say the least when Amelie obliged without bloodshed. "That's one of the reasons I'm here today. I've come to offer Claire my protection again." There was a pause for a moment. "What do you say, Claire? You've been awake and listening in long enough to have basic knowledge of the situation."

_Stupid vampires and their unnatural abilities_.

With red tinted cheeks, Claire sat up, wincing as the pain hit her like a bus. Remembering her leg, she glanced down. _Phew, thank God it's in a cast and out of my view now. I'm in too much pain to be able to run to the bathroom and vomit._

"You need another pain killer, Claire bear?" Eve started to get up, but Claire shook her head. Pain killers made her loopy, delusional, and Claire needed to be in her right state of mind for the time being.

She surveyed her surroundings. She was at the Glass house, it was daytime, her hand was bandaged, and she had a cast on her leg with a prescription for pain killers. She had obviously spent the night in the hospital and here she was now with Shane, Michael, Eve, Amelie, Amelie's guards, Mr. Howard, Chase, and Meaghan all staring at her. She had to hold in laughter when she noticed that Meaghan was still tied up, though not with silver chain, but a black one instead. Claire reasoned it was a special type used for vampires.

Noticing that all eyes were on her, waiting for her reply, Claire finally spoke up and summoned all the courage she had left, "I appreciate your offer, but I refuse to serve someone who gambles with my life. I know that since I'm only a fragile human being, you think you have the right to use me for your advantage, but that's just it. I _am_ only a fragile, young, completely breakable girl. Go risk one of your own kind's life. After all, you're so superior and immortal." She rolled her eyes and looked up to see that Amelie had her poker face on, which frustrated Claire even more. She wondered when Amelie would understand that everything didn't revolve around having a game strategy and trying to one-up others. "I'm in less danger without your protection than with it. Go find a new pawn, because I'm through."

It was then that Amelie unveiled her emotions, the primary and highly evident one being annoyance. "If you're done with your little rant, I feel the need to inform you that you have no idea of what you're talking about. Do you know how many people are out for your blood, but you still dare to deny my protection? You insolent child." Claire ground her teeth together, refusing to speak, and narrowed her eyes on Amelie. "Very well, then, but know I don't offer twice." _Why, because rejection makes the big, scary ice queen look bad?_ Claire grumbled inside her mind. "As for your friends, immediate death." Amelie nodded towards the sofa where Mr. Howard, Chase, and Meaghan sat.

"What? No! Mr. Howard and Chase are innocent," Claire frantically sat up; momentarily blind to the pain that was piercing her body.

"Every single one of your fellow friends on that sofa is guilty of treason. Meaghan and Chase formed an alliance with Oliver to overthrow me; while Mr. Howard helped you escape from Morganville, even though you were my property." The words 'escape' and 'property' echoed in Claire's mind. She resented being addressed as if she was some kind of zoo animal, lacking and undeserving of any type of freedom, but she supposed that was what she _had_ been to Amelie. Well, not anymore, she reasoned.

"But Chase was only pretending to help Oliver, right? In the end he remained faithful to you, so why should he be punished? And as for Mr. Howard, he didn't know about Morganville or the rules. I never told him, so it's my fault that he helped me escape. I should be the one you punish, not him."

"If Chase truly wanted to help, he should have alerted the proper authorities."

Claire felt an infinitesimal spark of hope when Amelie didn't give a responding argument on why Mr. Howard should receive punishment, so she continued on, hoping that she could break the ice queen down and show her reason. "Yes, but his own sister was helping Oliver. If he had told anyone about what was happening, he would have gotten his own flesh and blood killed. By working from the inside, he had a better chance of stopping any major movements, while at the same time keeping his sister safe. Put yourself in his shoes!"

Amelie paused for a very short moment, her face devoid of any emotion, before she spoke again, "My family and I aren't very close, but even if we were, I still would have remained loyal to my leader."

Claire gaped at her. Amelie would snitch on her own family and have them killed, just so she could remain _loyal_ to whoever was in charge. Claire didn't really know what to say to that.

"Claire," She snapped her head to look at Chase. He gave her a sad smile. "I appreciate everything you said, but that's okay; I accept my punishment."

Her eyes began to fill with tears. "But why, how could you…" She trailed off, unable to finish her sentence properly.

Chase turned his head, and she followed his movement, watching his eyes land on Meghan. Claire understood. He didn't want to live if his sister had to die. At that moment, Claire wanted nothing more than to steak Meghan herself. She was a terrible excuse for a sibling. She caused her own brother to become a vampire, to join some stupid rebellion, and to be sentenced with death. Meghan was such a selfish being, while her brother was completely selfless. This was another one of the many things that didn't seem fair.

Claire looked over at Mr. Howard. His head was downcast and he looked so defeated, which in turn made Claire guilty. This was all her fault. She was going to be the cause of three people's death. Claire didn't want to accept it, but there wasn't anything else to say, unless…

"I'll do it." Everyone's eyes landed on her, curious of the meaning behind her random outburst. "I'll serve you again if you let everyone live," Reluctantly, Claire added, "including Meaghan."

Amelie was appalled, "Absolutely not. Your servitude is not worth my ridicule. Do you know what it would look like if I let these rebels, one who completely and openly is against me, go unpunished? I would be a mockery."

"I didn't say you couldn't punish them. You can teach them a lesson any way you deem fit, as long as it doesn't involve death, torture, pain or blood." Claire thought back to a random fact she learned in seventh grade and added it in, "Did you know that states in which capital punishment is outlawed have a lower crime rate than where it's legal?"

Amelie was silent for a long time, and Claire took that as a good sign. I meant that she was at least pondering with the idea of showing some mercy. Finally, she spoke, "They will spend the night in captivity while I consider the offer." She stood up and headed for the door, but Claire stopped her.

"No," Amelie turned and shot her a cold glare, "I need your decision now. I can't spend all night tossing and turning wondering if you're going to be merciful or not. It's not really even that hard of a choice to make, so I see no reason why you need time to think; you either kill them and never have my assistance again or you find a humane way to punish them and I'll be your silly, obedient little pawn for the rest of eternity."

Amelie's glare hadn't been erased from her face and she slowly stepped towards Claire, which didn't have as much as a terrifying effect on her as it should have. She reasoned that it was probably because she had been through way too much trauma in the past twenty-four hours to respond to danger anymore. "Child, do not force me to make my decision right now. You are not in a position to do so, and furthermore, will not like the decision I make."

She wanted to call Amelie a bluff, because she knew she played an extremely important role, and Amelie couldn't afford to wait another century for someone half as intelligent as her to come along again, but she didn't push her luck. Claire could never be one-hundred percent sure when it came to Amelie. It looked like she would just have to spend tonight in a restless state. She reasoned it was fine, anyway, because this way she at least wouldn't have to face the horrific nightmares that would undoubtedly come as soon as she closed her eyes.

Taking Claire's silence as a reluctant submission, Amelie and her guards stood up, taking Meaghan, Chase and Mr. Howard with them. Even after they had gone, everyone remaining in the living room stayed silent. Claire wanted to break the tension, but couldn't bring herself to do so. Instead, she sat up and sucked in a deep breath before attempting to stand up. This was the first limb she had ever broken and didn't like the complete awkwardness and unbalanced feeling she felt as she began to teeter.

As she collapsed back onto the sofa, everyone snapped out of their haze. Eve gasped, "CB, you should be more careful. Michael, where are her crutches?"

"Oh, they're right over here," he stood up to fetch them, but Shane shook his head.

"Don't bother. If she's trying to go up the stairs," he turned to look at Claire, "You are trying to go up the stairs, right?" She nodded. "Right, then the crutches aren't any good to her. They're only good for flat surfaces. She'll need someone to help her up the stairs."

Claire wrinkled her nose at the thought of being helpless over something as simple as climbing stairs. This, she concluded, was definitely going to be the last time she broke a bone if she could help it. She was forced to snap out of her thoughts when Shane wrapped his arms around her, lifting her up completely.

He chuckled at her surprised squeak of protest, "Relax, there's no way you're going to make it up the flight of sixteen steps all by yourself. You're stubborn enough to maybe make it up six, but not sixteen. I'm only trying to help, unless you'd prefer Michael. I just kind of figured I'd be more comfortable though, you know, with my body heat and all."

Claire was not amused.

After they successfully climbed the stairs, he deposited her on the bed and she gaped at him, "You're not even panting."

He smirked, "I'm not really sure what kind of guys you've been hanging out with, but your average male can lift more than fifty pounds." She rolled her eyes and, once again, Shane laughed at her annoyance. "Look, if you need anything, just call for one of us." He started to leave.

"Wait!" The cry left Claire's lips before she had time to stop it. He turned to look at her and she bit her lip nervously, "I was just hoping you'd stay. I, uh, I kind of need some company." She looked anywhere but at him, preparing for rejection.

She was shocked to say the least when she heard him mumble, "Anything for you."

**So, I know some aspects about what went down at the warehouse are open-ended at the moment, but you'll get your resolve in the next chapter. **

**Also, would you kill me if I said I was thinking about the next chapter being the last? I know that last chapter I said about 5 more remained, but I changed things a bit. Originally, I planned on the ending being bittersweet, but I hate endings like that, and I'd be a bit of a hypocrite if I wrote one. So, at the very most, only 2 chapters remain.**

**On a positive note, at least you get your happy ending! :D**


	20. Resolution

Shane walked over to where Claire was seated and perched on the edge of the bed. Claire noted that he seemed a bit tense, so she started up conversation, "Hey, are you okay?"

He raised an eyebrow at her, "The girl with multiple bruises, cuts, scars and a broken leg is asking _me_ if _I'm_ okay? Claire, I think I need to be asking if _you're_ okay? And don't give me some bullshit answer of yes just because you think it's what I want to hear. What I want to hear is the truth."

She gave her best reassuring smile and lay back on the bed, the pillows doing wonders for her minor headache. "For what happened, yeah, I think I'm fine. It's just that you took down Meghan all by yourself, and I saw you walking with a limp yesterday, so I wanted to know if you were alright."

"Meghan's a young vampire, and for the son of a vampire hunter, completely easy to take down. All I had to do was splash some holy water on her, and after she fell to the ground, bind her in silver chain. Everything was going good until the bitch managed to get her arm free and take a swing at my leg, but it wasn't anything a little rest couldn't heal. I'm perfectly fine now."

Claire nodded, fairly content with that answer, "So how did you guys figure out where we were. anyway?"

Before answering, Shane stretched and lay back on the bed beside her, putting a comfortable amount of space between them. "We tracked your cell phone signal."

She pondered that for a moment. It seemed too…simple. Surely Oliver had enough sense to know that all cell phones had GPS, but then again, so did the siblings. Sure, Meghan might not be the most intelligent vampire to exist, but any modern teenager has plenty of technological knowledge under their belt. So, that only left Chase, but he too had to know that cell phones could be tracked. That meant…

Claire groaned. When she had been kidnapped from the glass house, it was clear that Chase was the sibling in charge. It was more than likely his responsibility to ensure that Oliver's plan carried out without a hitch. He had to have skipped searching Claire on purpose. He _wanted_ Claire to be tracked and rescued.

If Amelie sentenced him to death, Claire would feel like dirt. As soon as she saw him again, she needed to thank him, because she would most certainly be dead if it weren't for his good intentions.

After Claire was silent for a moment too long, Shane glanced down and noticed her lack of color. "Are you sure you're okay? You don't look so good."

She took a deep breath and nodded, "I was just thinking about whether or not Amelie is going to…you know."

"Hey, don't think about things like that. I know, it's hard not to, but worrying is pointless. Just hope for the best, and in the meantime, do something to take your mind off it," he paused and looked around the room, "Want to watch some TV?" Claire shook her head. "Read a book?" Negative. "Play video games, checkers, cards, listen to music?" He spouted off random ideas, all of which Claire declined.

"I just want to talk, if that's alright with you." He nodded and Claire gathered up the courage to ask something that had been bothering her for a while, "Are you hurt about Meghan?"

Shane looked disgusted, "She's a trampy fang-banger, and while I wish she didn't play both me and that bloodsucker at the same time, other than that, I don't really give a damn. I knew we were never going to work out, anyway."

"And why is that?"

He locked eyes with Claire, but didn't reply immediately, and appeared to be lost in thought. Finally giving in, he sighed and hung his head, "You know why, Claire, so don't make me say it."

Hope swelled inside of Claire, but she didn't understand why he looked so defeated. She shook her head, "I'm not entirely sure I do, so maybe you_ should_ say it."

He looked at her for the longest time, still with that certain look in his eye. It was only a mere second before the silence drove Claire mad that he finally exploded, "I've always known you were different from any other girl I'd been with, or hell, different from any girl I'd even known, but I don't think I ever fully comprehended just _how_ different. Shit, that doesn't make any sense, does it? Damn, I'm sorry if I'm rambling, which I'm pretty sure I'm doing…" He scratched the back of his neck. Though she knew it wasn't appropriate find the situation funny, Claire had to retain a chuckle. She had never seen Shane so frazzled before and she loved that it was because he couldn't express his feelings for her in words. _That makes two of us_, Claire thought.

"When you left, I was so…destroyed. The only other time I felt such an intense emotion was at the death of my mom and Alyssa, and even though you weren't dead and wrote a letter saying you'd be back soon, the fact you were even temporarily gone completely crushed me. You didn't even say goodbye, Claire. How could you? But, still, I waited. I waited a month for you to return, and when you didn't…I started loosing hope. I started thinking, why would you come back to Morganville if you were finally free? This place is a hell hole. I'm not even sure I would have come back if I were you." He paused for a moment before shaking his head, "No, that's not true. I might have been deeply tempted to stay away from this town, but I would have came back. For you, Claire; I can't live without you." There was a deafening silence before he added, "I love you so much, Claire."

Claire didn't even realize tears were streaming down her face until Shane glanced back up, his mouth dropping at the sight before him. "Shit, I made you cry! God, I'm such a failure. It's no wonder you moved on and started dating other guys; I can't do anything right." He paused for a moment before asking, "The pain killers that you're on, how strong are they? Because it'd be pretty nice if they wore off, and in the morning, you completely forgot how much of a royal prick I am."

Claire let out a breathless laugh and wiped her eyes. "Shane, there aren't any other guys. The whole time I was away, my memory might have been fuzzy, but my subconscious knew that there was only one person I was meant to be with." The tears were falling freely now and she didn't bother to wipe them away. It felt good to finally let her emotions free. She continued explaining, "And these are happy tears, Shane, because it's nice to know that you return my love." He looked shocked, which caused to another laugh to escape Claire's lips, "Yes, Shane, I am completely and hopelessly in love with you, too. When I saw you with Meaghan, you have no idea how much that broke me. She was so beautiful and I never thought you would leave her to return to someone like me. I'm just so…mediocre and plain."

He shook his head, "As cheesy as this may sound, you have to believe me when I say that you are the most amazing, beautiful, intelligent, sexy, caring, adorable, and loving girl I have ever laid my eyes on. There isn't one thing about you that I don't love." He reached over to brush a stray piece of hair off her face, "You are the _only_ girl for me, Claire Danvers."

That was all Claire could take before she crushed her lips onto his, enjoying the feeling that she had gone entirely too long without. She knew he was surprised, because his lips completely frozen at first, but he began to respond after a few seconds. Their kiss seemed to have every emotion known to man in it. It was full of passion, desire, care, lust, love, joy, hope; just plain and simple _need_. If not for their lack of oxygen, they would have never even broken apart.

As they did, their foreheads rested against each other and they attempted to catch their breath. Claire opened her eyes to see Shane staring at her. With their confessions of deep love still in the air, the atmosphere was very intense. He attempted to lighten the mood by chuckling, "I think fate is on my side."

"Oh yeah, and why is that?" Claire quirked an eyebrow, her breathing almost back to normal now.

"Because with your leg broken, it's a hell of a lot easier for me to resist the urge to be anything less than a gentleman tonight." Claire gaped at him. He couldn't possibly mean what she thought he meant could he? "And, yes, I mean _exactly_ what you think I mean. I'm just far too nice of a guy to risk injuring your leg any further." Without Claire even realizing it, her mouth had fallen open. Shane leaned over her, mere inches away from her lips, and whispered, "Close your mouth, Jailbait; I don't want anything except my tongue going inside there." In response to Claire's dumbfounded look, he rolled back over and laughed.

Feeling annoyance and sexual frustration boil inside of her, Claire grabbed the nearest pillow and smacked him in the head.

He only laughed harder.

***

The next morning, Claire was woken by Eve banging on the door and yelling, "Time to get your ass out of bed, Gimpy. Have your boy toy carry you downstairs ASAP; you've got visitors."

It was at that moment Claire noticed her rather hard and warm body-size pillow. _He stayed_, her mind cheered. But, then Claire focused on what Eve had said. _Visitors_.

She flew out of bed, or flew as quickly as she could with a broken leg, and shook Shane. He rolled away from her and grumbled, "Just a few more hours…"

Claire shook him a bit more roughly, but he still made no attempts to get up. She began glancing around, a smile inching its way over her features as she caught sight of a water bottle on her nightstand. It may not have been cold, but it would have to do. She hopped off the bed, unscrewed the lid, and gave Shane one last warning, "You have three seconds to get up or else."

The pillow was over his face, so Shane had no idea what she was planning. He mumbled, "Ugh, the sun's not even up, yet." Claire determined that she was just going to have to do this the hard way. A devilish smirk spread across her face as she snatched the pillow off Shane's head and tossed the remaining contents of the water bottle on him. He shot up and frantically looked at her, "Claire! Holy hell, you could have woken me up like a normal person, you know."

She glared at him, "I tried that, but you rolled over and attempted to shut out the rest of the world until noon."

"Well that sounds like a damn good plan to me. Why did you find it necessary to wake me up at five in the morning?"

"Because Amelie is downstairs and I_ need_ to hear what she decided," Claire looked up at him with desperate eyes.

A smirk appeared on his face, "And you _need_ me to carry you downstairs? Is that right?" She narrowed her eyes at him, but he continued on, "Just ask me, Claire, and I'll do it, but you've got to ask me first."

Giving in, she sighed, "Fine. Would you pretty please, with cherries on top of a banana split smothered in nuts, whipped cream and hot fudge, carry me downstairs?

The smirk turned into a triumphant grin, "You had me at banana split." He scooped her up and they headed downstairs, where he carefully set her on the loveseat and plopped down beside her.

It seemed as if everyone had taken their same seats from yesterday. Claire didn't take it as a good sign that Mr. Howard, Chase and Meaghan were still bound together on the sofa.

She looked over at Amelie and waited for her explanation to begin, "As you already know, I am here to inform you of my decision regarding those guilty of treason," Claire held her breath as Amelie continued, "I have concluded that what they have done is a despicable offense and they shall not be forgiven." _Oh no_, Claire gulped, _this speech is definitely not off to a good start_. "And due to this reason, they are to serve two weeks worth of community service, of my choice, before being exiled from Morganville."

Claire let go of her breath. She couldn't believe it. A smile threatened to overtake her face, but she held it in. She definitely didn't think Amelie would appreciate it.

After a mere two weeks of volunteer work, Mr. Howard, Chase and Meaghan would be free to leave. Sure, they could never return to Morganville, but that hardly seemed like a punishment. More like a…condition. Claire watched as Amelie stood up and walked over to the stairs before turning around, "Follow me, Claire. I would like to have a word with you in private."

Dread began to fill Claire again, but she followed her up the stairs, anyway. Once they were inside Claire's room, Amelie shut the door. "I brought you up here to discuss the more private aspects of our agreement. Starting Monday you are to begin your classes back at the university and assisting Myrnin with his research again."

"But I thought he had a new assistant?"

If Claire didn't know any better, she would have swore that the corner of Amelie's mouth began to lift into a ghost smile, "It's been taken care of."

Claire didn't like the sound of that, but she didn't press the issue any further. She pondered, _It's been taken care of…is that code for "we turned him into a snack"? _ Her frightening thoughts were interrupted by Amelie handing her a small, blood red, velvet box. When she offered no explanation, Claire slowly lifted the lid.

Apparently too slowly, because Amelie chastised her, "Child, it isn't going to bite you. Now if you would, please open it before the sun comes up and I am burned to ash."

Not wanting to add broken fingers to her injury list, Claire popped off the rest of the lid and stared at the silver bracelet inside. When she looked up, Amelie was giving her an expectant look. Claire sighed, knowing that now was the time she had to give up her freedom, but at least she was giving it for a good cause. She knew that sacrificing her freedom was worth saving three people's lives.

She lifted up the bracelet and wrapped it around her wrist. As soon as she clasped it, the bracelet tightened until only a toothpick would be able to squeeze between her flesh and the chain. This satisfied Amelie and she began heading towards the door, but not before turning back with a warning, "You should know that this is the first second chance I've given within decades. But third chances? No such a thing exists with me, so do not make the same mistake again."

Claire didn't even bother to reply. She was too defeated at the moment to do so, so she just followed Amelie back downstairs and watched as the trio on the sofa was unbound. Seeing them being let free lightened her spirits a bit. _This really is for a good cause_, she reminded herself.

"Mr. Howard's service will start tomorrow at dawn and end at dusk. The siblings will work the opposite shift, starting at dusk and ending at dawn. Those who do not show up or who are even two minutes tardy will be prosecuted any way I deem fit."

As Amelie and her guards left, Claire prayed that everyone would be promptly on time for their community service. She knew that that punishment wouldn't be nearly as merciful as this one had been.

A silence seemed to ensue a few moments before Eve clapped her hands together and began conversation, "Well, since we're all up, how about I go fix us some breakfast? We can all eat together like one big, happy, dysfunctional family."

"Sounds good to me," Michael stated as he followed her into the kitchen, "How about eggs and bacon?"

"And toast," Claire called.

Meaghan seemed like she wanted to protest the idea of sticking around, but Chase shot her a glare that made even Claire shiver. "Fine, whatever," She huffed and dragged her feet across the floor as she also headed into the kitchen.

Chase rolled his eyes at his sister's antics and turned towards Claire, "I just want to say thanks for getting us out of trouble. I know you had to give up a lot, and for that, I'm truly grateful. I want you to know that Meaghan is too, but she's too vain to suck it up and say thanks."

Claire waved her hand as a dismissal, "It's no problem. Besides, I think I'm the one who owes you a thank you, Mr. I-forgot-to-confiscate-any-traceable-cell-phones."

He grinned, "They can be tracked? Damn, I'll have to remember that for future reference." He took a big whiff of the air, "Oh, I smell bacon. Race you to the kitchen!"

Claire didn't have the heart to tell him that Eve couldn't cook for anything and that the bacon would be burned to a crisp before she decided it was ready to serve. As she turned, Mr. Howard caught her eye. He was still frozen on the sofa, so she walked over and sat beside him, "Hey, everything alright?

When he looked up at her, she saw unshed tears in his eyes. "I'm fine. It's just that these past few days have been so crazy. I can't believe that something I thought only existed in books and movies are actually _real_, and let me to you, that's an absolutely terrifying fact to discover."

Claire sympathized, because she knew exactly how Mr. Howard felt. When she first moved here, she thought that this town was full of loony people, because really, _vampires exist_? Science-loving Claire scoffed at such a theory. Now, here she was; showing loyalty, assisting, and living with vampires.

"Claire, I just want to thank you for everything. I don't think I'll ever be able to show you how much I appreciate you doing what you did. I might not be entirely sure of what exactly you did do, but I can imagine that 'serving', as you called it, such a creature isn't a good thing." He gave her a deep stare, "Claire, are you sure it's safe for you to live here in this town? Because I'll do anything to get you away from here if you are, in any way, at danger…"

Quickly, Claire cut him off, "No, Mr. Howard, I appreciate your concern, but I belong here. It's where all of the people I love dearly are." When he didn't look convinced, she continued to explain her feelings, "When I was away from them, it just felt like my heart and mind had this huge, black hole in them. I couldn't remember a thing about them, but I knew that _something_ was missing from my life. It's a terrible feeling to know that your life isn't complete, but being unable to figure out what the missing piece is. I can't go back to living like that; they mean too much to me to have them completely wiped from my memory again."

Mr. Howard appeared to be more understanding, but he still had a pessimistic look in his eye, "Well, if you ever change your mind, call me and I'll be here in an instant; risks be damned." He paused as he prepared himself for the next topic, "I also want to thank you for…thank you for being there for my baby girl during her last months. I never got a chance to say that before since you left so abruptly. I know that she appreciated having a friend like you around her during such a tough time."

Claire winced and decided to get her guilt off her chest, "Mr. Howard, you really shouldn't be thinking me. I…I didn't help your daughter in any way. It may have appeared that way, but in reality, I just dragged her down more. I could have helped her. I could have kept her away from parties, away from boys, away from…"

Now it was Mr. Howard's turn to cut her off, "No, Claire, you have no reason to feel guilty." He sighed, "When Cara was growing up, her mother and I kept her so sheltered. I can't even tell you one mistake she made, because that's just how much of a tight guard we kept her on." He paused to wipe away the tear currently sliding down his cheek, "But when we found out that she had cancer and the chances of her living were…slim, I realized the mistake in how we raised her. She never got to have a normal childhood or be a normal teenager and do the things that every adolescent does." He gazed into Claire's eyes, "But you helped her. In the few months she had left, she got to experience the things she should have experienced anyway; the things that we took away from her. For that, I am forever grateful, because my baby girl got to die happy."

Claire was appalled, "But she got drunk and high and started fights and screwed meaningless guys! All because of me. I could have stopped her, but I didn't. How could want that for her?!"

"So she made the mistakes that we all make at some point in our lives. You're forgetting the more _important _things you did with her. She finally got to go to an amusement park and ride a roller coaster that we never let her get on before because we thought they were unsafe. She got to take karate lessons that she always wanted to, but we never let her since we thought they promoted violence. She got to learn how to play the piano which we thought was useless because being a musician isn't a promising career. She got to eat an average teenager's diet full of junky, sugary, fatty foods that we prevented her from eating since we didn't want her to have clogged arteries or diabetes. Claire, don't you understand? You helped her live and be a normal, carefree teenager through a time period that was most certainly not light or carefree. But, not once did she ever show any signs of being deeply depressed or regretful." He got up from the sofa and enveloped her in a hug, "She was living life to its fullest and that was all because of you."

Claire could feel tears streaming down her face as she hugged him back as tightly as she could muster. "Thank you," she whispered through her sobs.

But, not one to be overly emotional, Mr. Howard pulled away with a chuckle, "Alrighty then, there's some toast in the kitchen calling my name. Say, have you guys got any jam?"

Claire laughed, "I think so. I believe its grape flavored."

He clapped his hands together, "Perfect!" Then, he headed on his way into the kitchen.

"Claire, are you okay?"

She spun around, completely unaware that Shane had been there during her whole conversation with Mr. Howard. After the initial shock wore off, she responded to his question by nodding. It was true, she was alright, but there were a few things that still didn't seem right. During her whole time back at Morganville, she had been so evasive and closed off about her whereabouts and feelings for the past three months. She didn't want that anymore. She wanted to get everything off of her chest, to be open and honest.

So, Claire decided to start with the person she cared the most about, "Hey Shane, would you mind taking a walk with me?"

And he nodded.

_The End._

**So it's finally finished! I was so sad, and was even tempted to drag this story out because I adore it that much, but finally decided against it. All good things must come to an end, right? **

**I left the ending fairly open and decided not to write an epilogue because I want you to draw your own conclusions. So, feel free to tell me what you imagine in store for Claire, Shane and the rest of the Morganville clan's future.**

**I deeply want to thank all the people who reviewed, favorited, alerted, or read this story. Since this is my first story I've published for the public to read, you have no idea how much your encouragement meant to me. I love and appreciate you all! :D**

**On my final note, as for future projects, I'm doing a Twilight Fanfic. I wracked my brain for more Morganville storylines, but I couldn't think of any I **_**really**_** liked. I'm not sure how many of you guys like Twilight, but if you'd like, be on the lookout for my next story. It's called **_**Perception **_**and should be posted within a week or so. It's an Edward & Bella story, centered on the whole opposites attract concept, in case you're wondering. **

**But, for now my lovelies, I bid you all adieu!**


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